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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA 

S. W. McCALLIE, State Geologist 


BULLETIN NO. 26 


PRELIMINARY REPORT 

ON THE 

Geology of the Coastal Plain 

OF 

GEORGIA 



BY 

dne OTTO VEATCH, 

Assistant State Geologist of Georgia 


AND 


LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON, 

Assistant Geologist, U. S. G. S. 


PREPARED IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 

T. WAYLAND VAUGHAN, 

Geologist in Charge of Coastal Plain Investigations. 


ATLANTA, GA. 

FOOTE & DAVIES CO. 
1911 








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THE ADVISORY BOARD 


OF THE 

Geological Survey of Georgia 

in the Year 1911 


(Ex-Officio) 

His Excellency, HOKE SMITH, Governor of Georgia 
President of the Board 


Hon. PHILIP COOK_ 

Hon. W. J. SPEER_ 

Hon. W. A. WRIGHT____ 
Hon. THOMAS FELDER 
Hon. T. G. HUDSON____ 
Hon. M. L. BRITTAIN __ 


_Secretary of State 

_State Treasurer 

_Comptroller-General 

_Attorney-General 

_Commissioner of Agriculture 

Commissioner of Public Schools 











CONTENTS 


5 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Page 

Advisory Board. 3 

List of Illustrations. 15-18 

Letter of transmittal, Geological Survey of Georgia. 20 

Letter of transmittal, U. S. Geological Survey. 22-23 

Physiography, by Otto Yeatch.». 25-50 

Other physiographic divisions of the State. 25-27 

Cumberland Plateau. 25 

Appalachian Valley. 26 

Appalachian Mountains. 26 

Piedmont Plateau. 26 

Coastal Plain. 27-57 

Fall Line hills. 28-30 

Dougherty plain. 30-31 

Altamaha upland .. 31-34 

Southern lime-sink region. 34-35 

Okefenokee plain. 35-36 

Satilla coastal lowland or Satilla plain. 36-39 

Terraces. 39 

Drainage. 39-41 

Lakes and ponds . 41-43 

Fluviatile and upland swamps. 43-49 

Okefenokee Swamp. 44-49 

Other swamps. 49 

Springs. 49-50 

Elevations, by Otto Veatch. 50-57 

General statement of the geology of the Coastal Plain, by Otto Veatch 58-65 

Divisions of Coastal Plain strata. 59 

Thickness. 59-62 

Structure. 62 

Cretaceous, by Lloyd William Stephenson.66-215 

Introductory statement. 66 

Historical review. 67-73 

Lower Cretaceous.73-111 

Definition. 73-77 

Areal distribution. 73 

Stratigraphic position. 73-74 

Lithologic characters. 74-75 

Strike, dip, and thickness. 75-77 

Physiographic expression. 77 

Paleontologic characters. 77 

Detailed sections.. • • • 78-108 











































6 


CONTENTS 


Chattahoochee River. 78-83 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers . 83-91 

Region between Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers . . . 91-105 

Savannah River.105-106 

Wells south of the belt of outcrop.106-108 

Correlation.108-111 

Upper Cretaceous.111-215 

Eutaw formation.111-149 

Name.111-112 

Definition.113-117 

Areal distribution. 113 

Stratigraphic position. 113 

Lithologic characters.113-115 

Strike, dip, and thickness.115-116 

Physiographic expression. 116 

Paleontologic characters.116-117 

Detailed sections (Part of formation below the Tombigbee 

sand member).117-131 

Chattahoochee River.117-123 

Region between Chattahoochee and Flint rivers . . . 123-131 

Detailed sections (Tombigbee sand member) ....... .131-140 

Chattahoochee River.131-138 

East of Chattahoochee River.138-140 

Correlation.140-149 

Ripley formation.149-215 

Name.",.'.149-150 

Definition.150-155 

Areal distribution.150-151 

Stratigraphic position. 151 

Lithologic characters.151-153 

Strike, dip, and thickness.153-154 

Physiographic expression. 154 

Paleontologic characters.154-155 

Detailed sections (Part of formation included within the 

zone of Exogyra ponderosa ).155-172 

Chattahoochee River.155-160 

Northeast of Chattahoochee River (typical marine beds) 160-161 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers 

(Cusseta sand member)...161-172 

Detailed sections (Exogyra costata zone).172-192 

Chattahoochee River (typical marine beds).172-181 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers 

(typical marine beds).181-192 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers 

(Providence sand member). 192-200 

Detailed sections (wells south of the belt of outcrop) . . . 200-204 






































CONTENTS . 7 


Correlation. 204-215 

Part of formation included within the zone of Exogyra 

ponderosa . 204-210 

Exogyra costata zone.210-215 

Tertiary and Quaternary, by Otto Veatch and Lloyd William Stephen¬ 
son .216-456 

Eocene.216-306 

Midway formation.216-226 

* Name.✓. 216 

Definition.216-220 

Stratigraphic relations.216-218 

Lithologic characters. 218 

Thickness. 218 

Paleontologic characters. 219 • 

Areal distribution. 219 

Physiographic expression.219-220 

Structure. 220 

Economic geology. 220 

Local details. 220-226 

Fort Gaines.'. 220-221 

Hatcher. 221-223 

Greer Cave locality. 223 

Preston. 223 

Ellaville. 224 

Montezuma. 224-226 

Wilcox formation. 226-235 

Name. 226-227 

Definition. 227-231 

Stratigraphic relations. 227-228 

Lithologic characters. 228 

Thickness. 229 

Paleontologic characters. 229-230 

Areal distribution. 230 

Physiographic expression. 230 

Structure. 231 

Economic geology. 231 

Local details. 231-235 

Fort Gaines. 231-234 

Cuthbert. 234 

Weston. 234-235 

Plains. 235 

Ellaville. 235 

Andersonville. 235 

Claiborne group. 235-296 

McBean formation. 237-284 

Name. ^3< 














































CONTENTS 


8 


Definition. 237-241 

Stratigraphic relations. 237-238 

Lithologic characters. 238 

Thickness. 239 

Paleontologic characters. 239-240 

Areal distribution. 240-241 

Physiographic expression. 241 

Structure. 241 

Local details (not including Congaree clay member) . . . 242-267 
McBean Creek area, Richmond and Burke counties . . . 242-243 

Savannah River, Burke County. 243-251 

Shell Bluff... 243-248 

Demeries Ferry. 248 

Hancock Landing. 248-249 

Blue Bluff. 249-250 

Griffin Landing. 250 

Lime-kiln Bluff. 250-251 

Richmond County. 251 1 

Hephzibah. 251 

Jefferson County. 251-253 

Louisville. 251-253 

Washington County. 253-255 

Sandersville. 253 

Tennille. 254 

Sunhill. 254 

Davisboro. 255 

Twiggs County. 255-257 

Dry Branch. 255-256 

Gallemore .. 256-257 

Area west of Ocmulgee River. 257-267 

Perry, Houston County. 258-260 

Flint River. 260-262 

Chattahoochee River. 262-266 

Other localities. 266-267 

Congaree clay member of McBean formation. 267-284 

Local details. 269 

Columbia County. 269-272 

Grovetown. 269-271 

Harlem. 271-272 

Jefferson County. 272 

Wrens . . . .. 272 

Glascock County. 272-274 

Gibson.\ 272-274 

Washington County. 274-276 

Sandersville. 274-275 

Chalker. 276 














































CONTENTS 


9 


Wilkinson County. 

Gordon . 

Lewiston. 

Twiggs County. 

Pikes Peak station. 

Jones County. 

Roberts station. 

Griswoldville. 

Bibb County. 

Economic geology of McBean formation 

Barnwell sand.. 

Name... 

Definition. 

Stratigraphic relations. 

Lithologic characters. 

Thickness. 

Paleontologic characters. 

Areal distribution. 

Physiographic expression. 

Structure. 

Local details. 

Burke County. 

Storm Branch and Cox Springs . . 

Waynesboro. 

Midville. 

Boyd farm.. 

Stony Bluff. 

Richmond County. 

Hephzibah. 

Berzelia.. . 

Jefferson County. 

Louisville. 

Wadley. 

Wilkinson County.. • 

McIntyre. 

Twiggs County. 

Dry Branch clay mines. 

Jeffersonville. 

Bibb County . 

Browns Mountain. 

Jackson formation. 

Name. 

Definition. 

Stratigraphic relations. 

Lithologic characters and thickness 
Paleontologic characters. 


276-278 

276- 277 

277- 278 

278- 279 

278- 279 

279- 283 
279-282 

282- 283 
283 

283- 284 
285-296 

285 
285-287 
285-286 

286 
286 
286 
287 
287 
287 

287-296 

287-290 

287- 288 

288- 289 

289 

289- 290 

290 
. 290-291 

290 
, 290-291 
. 291-292 
. 291-292 

292 

293 
293 

. 293-295 
. 293-294 
. 294-295 
. 295-296 
296 
. 296-306 

296 
. 296-299 
. 296-297 

297 
. 297-298 
















































10 


CONTENTS 


Areal distribution. 

Physiographic expression. 

Structure. 293 

Economic geology. 298-299 

Local details. 299-306 

Calhoun County. 299 

Crawford County. 299-300 

Rich Hill. 299-300 

Houston County. 300-304 

Bonaire. 300-301 

Perry 301-303 

Tivola. 303-304 

Twiggs County. 304-305 

Near Dry Branch.. 

Westlake. 304-305 

Pulaski County. 305 

Johnson County. 305-306 

Savannah River . 

Johnsons Landing. 399 

Oligocene. 306 

Vicksburg formation. 306-324 

Name. 306-307 

Definition. 307-311 

Stratigraphic relations. 307-308 

Lithologic characters. 308-309 

Thickness. 399 

Paleontologic characters. 309-310 

Areal distribution. 310 

Physiographic expression. 310 

Structure. 3 * 9 

Economic geology. 311 

Local details.311-324 

Chattahoochee River. 311 

Between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers.311-314 

Cuthbert, Randolph County. 311 

Blakeley, Early County.311-312 

Hilton, Early County. 312 

Dawson, Terrell County. 312 

Bronwood, Terrell County. 312 

Arlington, Calhoun County. 313 

Colquitt, Miller County. 313 

Andersonville, Sumter County. 313 

Americus, Sumter County. 314 

Exposures on and near Flint River.314-322 

Near Oakfield, Worth and Lee counties.314-316 

Albany and vicinity.316-319 

Nigger Head Bend, Mitchell County. 319 

















































CONTENTS 


11 


Dewitt, Mitchell County. 319 

Newton, Baker County. 320 

Bainbridge. 320-322 

Brinson, Decatur County. 322 

Between Flint and Ocmulgee Rivers. 322 

Elko, Houston County. 322 

Ocmulgee River. 322-323 

Hawkinsville . '. 322-323 

Oconee River. 323 

Dublin, Laurens County. 323 

Exposures on and near Savannah River ........ 323-324 

Girard and Flint Branch, Burke County. 323 

Johnsons Landing. 324 

Hershman Lake, Screven County. 324 

Millhaven, Screven County. 324 

Apalachicola group. 324-362 

Chattahoochee formation. 324-342 

Name. 324 

Definition. 325-328 

Stratigraphic relations. 325 

Lithologic characters. 326 

Thickness. 326 

Paleontologic characters. 326-327 

Areal distribution. 327 

Physiographic expression. 327-328 

Structure. 328 

Economic geology. 328 

Local details. 328-342 

Decatur County. 328-334 

Bainbridge and vicinity. 328-333 

Faceville. 333-334 

Recovery. 334 

Wylie Landing. 334 

Grady County. 334-336 

Whigham. 334-336' 

Ocklockonee River. 336 

Thomas County. 336-339 

Original Pond and other localities.' . . 336-338 

Boston. 338 

Other localities. 339-342 

Withlacoochee River. 339-340 

Allapaha River. 340 

Rock House, Crisp County. 340 

Ocmulgee River. 340 

Millen, Jenkins County. 341 

Jacksonboro, Screven County. 341-342 
















































12 


CONTENTS 


Alum Bluff formation. 342-362 

Name. 342-343 

Definition. 343-346 

Stratigraphic relations. 343 

Lithologic characters. 343-344 

Thickness. 345 

Paleontologic characters. 345 

Areal distribution. 345-346 

Physiographic expression. 346 

Structure. 346 

Economic geology. 346 

Local details . . .. 347-362 

‘Bainbridge, Decatur County . . . .. 347-348 

Climax, Decatur County. 348-349 

Attapulgus, Decatur County. 349-350 

Whigham and Cairo, Grady County. 350-351 

Ocklockonee River. 351 

Thomasville and Boston, Thomas County. 351-352 

Withlacoochee River. 352-353 

Allapaha River . .. 353-354 

Suwanee River. 355 

St. Mary’s River. 356 

Ocmulgee River. 356-358 

Oconee River.. . . . 358-359 

Altamaha River. 359-360 

Ogeechee River. 360 

Savannah River. 361-362 

Miocene. 362-379 

Marks Head marl. 363-366 

Name ... .. 363 

Definition. 363-366 

Stratigraphic relations. 363 

Lithologic characters and thickness. 363 

Areal distribution and structure. 364 

Paleontologic characters. 364-366 

Economic geology. 366 

Duplin marl. 366-369 

Name. 366 

Definition. 366-369 

Stratigraphic relations. 366 

Lithologic characters and thickness.. . 366-367 

Areal distribution and structure. 367 

Paleontologic characters. 367-369 

Economic geology. 369 

Undifferentiated Miocene. 369 















































CONTENTS 


13 


Local details. 370-379 

Savannah River. 370-376 

Hudsons Ferry. 370-371 

Marks Head. 371 

Porters Landing and vicinity. 371-373 

Mount Pleasant Landing. 373-374 

Sisters Ferry. 374-375 

Frying Pan Landing. 375 

Ebenezer Landing. 375 

Purisburg, South Carolina .. 375-376 

Altamaha River. 376-377 

Bugs Bluff and Buzzards Roost Bluff. 376 

Doctortown. 377 

Glynn County. 377-379 

Brunswick. 377-378 

Livingston Plantation. 378-379 

Camden County. 379 

Owens Ferry. 379 

Pliocene. 379-423 

Historical review. 380-392 

Charlton formation. 392-400 

Local details . . . . ;. 393-400 

St. Marys River. 393-400 

Stokes Ferry. 393-394 

Hicks Bluff. 394 

Red Bluff. 395 

Schoolhouse Bluff. 395 

Rand Landing. 395-396 

Clay Landing. 396 

Nettles Landing. 396-397 

Cow Ford. 397 

Sawpit Landing. 398 

Folkston . 398-399 

Chalk Bluff. 399-400 

Orange Bluff. 400 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 400-423 

Name.*.400-401 

Definition. 401-409 

Stratigraphic relations. 401-402 

Lithologic characters. 402-405 

Thickness. 406 

Paleontology and age. 406-407 

Areal distribution .. 407 

Physiographic expression. 407-408 

Structure. 408 

Conditions of deposition. 408-409 
















































14 


CONTENTS * 

Local details. 409-423 

Altamaha River. 409-414 

East and north of Altamaha River.414-417 

West of Altamaha and Oconee rivers.417-420 

Western and southern localities. 420-423 

Pleistocene . 424-445 

Columbia group. 425-445 

Okefenokee formation . . . . ". 425-434 

Coastal terrace deposits. 425-427 

Local details. 427-428 

Surficial sands. 427-428 

Deposits beneath the surficial sands. 428 

Fluviatile terrace deposits. 428-430 

Local details. 431-434 

Chattahoochee River. 431 

Flint River. 432 

Ocmulgee River. 432-433 

Savannah River. 433 

Ogeechee River .. 433 

Other rivers. 433-434 

Satilla formation. 434-445 

Coastal terrace deposits. 434-437 

Local details. 437-440 

Savannah, Chatham County. 437-438 

Crescent, McIntosh County. 438-439 

Glynn County. 439 

Camden County, Satilla and St. Marys rivers. 439-440 

Fluviatile terrace deposits. 441-445 

Ogeechee River. 443 

Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers. 443 

Altamaha River. 443-444 

Flint River. 444 

Chattahoochee River. 444 

Other rivers.444.445 

Recent. 445-447 

Surficial gray sands of the upland. 447-456 

Local details. 451-456 

Fall Line localities. 451-454 

“Wire-grass” sand hills. 454-456 









































ILLUSTRATIONS 


15 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES 


Opposite Page 

Plate 1. A.—Pyles Marsh, 11 miles northwest of Brunswick, show¬ 
ing timber killed by the encroachment of salt water 
upon the land, and old stumps in the foreground 
B.—Channel of Little Ocmulgee River one mile east of 
McRae, Telfair County.32 

II. A.—Terrace and escarpment bordering St. Marys River (Flor¬ 
ida side) opposite Traders Hill, Charlton County, Ga. . 

B.—Satilla terrace plain immediately west of New Savan¬ 
nah Bluff, Savannah River, Richmond County.40 

III. A.—Sand hill on east side of Little Ocmulgee River, two 

miles northeast of Helena, Telfair County. 

B.—A lime-sink pond known as Waving Pond, seven miles 

northwest of Sylvester, Worth County.48 

IV. A.—Interior of Big Pond, seven miles north of Baxley, Ap¬ 

pling County. 

B.—A lime-sink pond in the Chattahoochee formation, on 
the property of Mrs. Mitchell, six miles west of Boston, 
Thomas County. 56 

V. Table showing the lithologic variations of the eastern Gulf 
Cretaceous deposits, and the age relationships of the 
Cretaceous deposits of Georgia to those of the re¬ 
mainder of the eastern Gulf region; also the correla¬ 
tion of the eastern Gulf Cretaceous with the Carolina 
and Middle Atlantic Cretaceous.72 

I 

VI. A.—Clay pit at plant of the Georgia Kaolin Company, two 

miles southeast of Dry Branch, in Twiggs County, Ga . 

« B.—Exposure in cut of Columbus-Seale road, four miles 

southwest of Columbus, Ga., in Russell County, Ala ... 80 


VII. A.—Thomas Bluff, Chattahoochee River, one mile below the 

mouth of Bull Creek, Muscogee County, Ga. 

B.—Exposure in cut of Columbus-Macon road, 3Yo miles 

northeast of Columbus, Ga.88 

VIII. A.—Exposure on right bank of Chattahoochee River at 

Broken Arrow Bend, 10 y 2 miles below Columbus, Ga . . 

B.—Exposure in cut of Steam Mill road, 7 miles east of 

Columbus, Ga.96 


IX. A.—Slick Bluff, Chattahoochee River, right bank, 14 miles 

below Columbus, Ga... 

B.—Sandstone dike in clay of Eutaw formation at Slick Bluff . 104 

X. A.—Indurated layer of fossiliferous marine sand in bed of 

Ochillee Creek, at Ochillee, Chattahoochee County, Ga . . 

B.—Exposure in cut of Columbus-Lumpkin road, 13 miles 
south of Columbus, Ga. 


112 















16 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


XI. A.—Bluff below Banks Landing, Chattahoochee River, 26 1 / 4 

miles below Columbus, Ga., left bank. 

B.—Bluff at Snake Shoals, Chattahoochee River, 30 miles be¬ 
low Columbus, Ga., right bank.120 

XII. A.—Bluff at Blufftown, Ga., 31 % miles below Columbus, Ga . . 

B.—Exposure in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway, 2 y 2 miles 

northwest of Cusseta, Chattahoochee County, Ga . . . . 128 

XIII. A.—Exposure in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway, at Manta 

Station (Hichitee P. O.) Chattahoochee County, Ga . . . 

B.—Exposure in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway, three 

miles east of Cusseta, Chattahoochee County, Ga. . . . 136 


XIV. A.—Exposure in gully in Buena Vista-Tazewell road, six 

miles northeast of Buena Vista, Marion County, Ga. . 

B.—“Sand stream,” one mile north of Tazewell, Marion 

County, Ga.160 

XV. A.—Exposure on Mercers Mill Creek near Georgetown, in 

Quitman County, Ga. 

B.—Bluff on Chattahoochee River at Eufaula, Ala.176 

« 

XVI. A.—The “Narrows” of Pataula Creek, nine miles north of 

Fort Gaines, Clay County, Ga. 

B.—Waterfall at upper end of the “Narrows” .<.184 

XVII. A.—Exposure in cut of Southern Railway, about one-third 

mile north of Zenith Station, Crawford County, Ga. . . 

B.—Cut of Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad, 1% 

miles north of Ideal, Macon County, Ga.192 

XVIII. A.—Gully 10y 2 miles northeast of Georgetown, in Stewart 

County, Ga. 

B.—Cut of Central of Georgia Railway, one mile southeast 

of Buena Vista, Marion County, Ga.208 


XIX. A.— Ostrea Georgiana bed at Shell Bluff, Savannah River, 

Burke County. 

B.—Layer of pisolitic clay bowlders near the base of the 
Claiborne group in a pit of the American Clay Com¬ 
pany, Eleven Mile Post, Twiggs County.240 

XX. A.—Bed of fullers earth in Congaree clay member of McBean 
formation, pit of General Reduction Company, 12 miles 
southeast of Macon, near the Macon, Dublin, & Savan¬ 
nah R. R., Twiggs County. 

B.—Cut of Macon, Dublin, & Savannah R. R., 12 y 2 miles 
southeast of Macon, near Pikes Peak Station, Twiggs 
County, showing Congaree clay member of McBean 
Formation.272 

XXI. A.—Exposure of limestone of the Jackson formation in a 
quarry near the Georgia, Southern, & Florida Ry., 1 y 2 

miles south of Tivola, Houston County. 

B.—Exposure of limestone of the Jackson formation in a 
gully at Rich Hill, five miles southeast of Roberta, 
Crawford County .296 

XXII. A.—Masses of flint from the Vicksburg formation in bed of 
Flint River, eight or nine miles above Bainbridge, 

Decatur County. 

B.—Exposure of flint and limestone of the Vicksburg for- 



















ILLUSTRATIONS 


17 


mation just above Dewitt Ferry, Flint River, Mitchell 
County.312 

XXIII. A.-—Sink in Chattahoochee limestone near Recovery, Decatur 

County. 

B.—Sink in Chattahoochee limestone, known as Original 
Pond, showing the limestone rock at edge of pond, 
on property of H. C. Copeland & Co., three miles west 
of Metcalf, Thomas County.328 

XXIV. A.—Exposure of limestone of the Chattahoochee formation 
at Stony Lake Bluff, Withlacoochee River, seven miles 

southeast of Quitman, Brooks County. 

B.—Exposure of Chattahoochee limestone in bank of With¬ 
lacoochee River, New Bridge (or Horn Bridge) three 
miles below the Valdosta Southern R. R. bridge, 
Lowndes County.336 

XXV. A.—Exposure of partially indurated, phosphatic, calcareous 
sand of the Alum Bluff formation, Allapaha River. 

Statenville, Echols County. 

B.—Lower Sister Bluff, Altamaha River, Appling County, 
showing strata of the Alum Bluff and Altamaha (La¬ 
fayette?) formations.352 

XXVI. A.—Unconformity, probably between the Marks Head marl 
and the Duplin marl, at a wood landing just above 
Enochs wood landing, 67% miles above Savannah, 

Screven County. 

B.—Exposure of Charlton formation, St. Marys River, right 
bank (Florida side), Stokes’ Ferry, 11 miles south of 
St. George, Charlton County, Ga. ...... T.376 

XXVII. A.—Exposure of Charlton formation, St. Marys River, right 
bank (Florida side) one mile above Traders Hill, 

Charlton County, Ga. 

B.—Exposure of Charlton formation, St. Marys River, at At¬ 
lantic Coast Line R. R. bridge (Florida side), three 
miles southeast of Folkston, Charlton County, Ga. . . . 392 

XXVIII. A.—Cut of Atlantic Coast Line R. R., west of Climax, De¬ 
catur County, showing strata of the Altamaha for¬ 
mation . 

B.—Characteristic mottling in weathered phase of the Alta¬ 
maha formation, cut of Atlantic Coast Line R. R., 
west of Cairo, Grady County.416 

XXIX. A.—Deposit of pure white sand used in the manufacture of 
glass, probably belonging to the Okefenokee formation, 
two miles northeast of Lumber City, Telfair County . . . 

B.—Beards Bluff, Altamaha River, Tattnall County, showing 

prominent clay layer in Satilla formation.440 

XXX. A.—Cut of Macon, Dublin & Savannah R. R. through a sand 
hill on east side- of Oconee River, near Dublin, Lau¬ 
rens County. 

B.—Exposure of residual, surficial sand in a sand pit near 

Howard, Taylor County.448 

















18 ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGURES 


Page. 

Fig. 1. Sketch map showing physiographic divisions of the Coastal 


Plain. 28 

Fig. 2. Profile from Macon southeast to Brunswick. 37 

Fig. 3. Profile sketch from Homerville to Cumberland Island ... 46 

Fig. 4. Profile from Okefenokee Swamp to Kings Ferry, Florida, 

along line D-E, on map of Okefenokee Swamp. 47 

Fig. 5. Sketch map of the Coastal Plain of Georgia, showing relation 

of drainage to geologic structure. 63 

Fig. 6. Sketch map of Chattahoochee River, Columbus, Ga., to Fort 

Gaines, Ga. 79 

Fig. 7. Sketch showing relation of Lower Cretaceous beds to Eutaw 

formation at bluff below mouth of Upatoi Creek. 83 

Fig. 8. Sketch showing relation of Cretaceous and Eocene strata at 

Phinizy Gully, near Grovetown, Ga. 102 

Fig. 9. Sketch showing the relations of Lower Cretaceous beds and 

the Eutaw formation to each other and to overlying 
Pleistocene terrace deposits. 127 

Fig. 10. Section constructed from exposures in cuts of Southern 

Railway, from Zenith, Ga., northward, for about three- 
quarters of a mile. 167 

Fig. 11. Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, 1 y 2 miles 

northeast of Fort Valley. ( . 168 

Fig. 12. Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, 1 y 2 miles 

northeast of Byron, Ga. 170 

Fig. 13. Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, six miles south¬ 
east of Eufaula, Ala., in Quitman County, Ga. 193 

MAPS 


1. Map of Okefenokee Swamp and adjacent region 

2. Geologic map .of the Coastal Plain of Georgia 


44 

58 




















LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 


Geological Survey of Georgia, 

Atlanta, November 1, 1911. 

To His Excellency , Hoke Smith, Governor and President of the 
Advisory Board of the Geological Survey of Georgia. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a preliminary report 
on the Geology of the Coastal Plain of Georgia, to be published as 
Bulletin No. 26 of this Survey. This report, which is the result of 
co-operative work between the State Geological Survey of Georgia 
and the United States Geological Survey, brings together in a system¬ 
atic form all of the data so far collected by these surveys on the strati¬ 
graphic geology of the Coastal Plain of this State. By the aid of the 
information herein given it is now possible to work out to a greater 
advantage the various problems of economic geology which present 
themselves in South Georgia. 

Very respectfully yours, 

S. W. McCallie, 

, State Geologist. 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 


Washington, June 10, 1911. 

Prof. S. W. McCallie, 

State Geologist of Georgia, 

Geological Survey of Georgia, 

Atlanta, Ga. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of a 
report entitled “The Geology of the Coastal Plain of Georgia with 
special reference to the stratigraphy, prepared under the direction of 
Thomas Wayland Yaughan, by Otto Yeatch and Lloyd William 
Stephenson,” in co-operation between the United States Geological 
Survey and the Geological Survey of Georgia. 

This report results from an agreement for the study of the geology 
and underground water resources of the Coastal Plain of Georgia, 
entered into by the United States Geological Survey and the Geo¬ 
logical Survey of Georgia in 1908. According to this agreement 
Dr. Yaughan was to have the direction of the investigations, 
while each co-operating orgainzation was to contribute the services 
of one geologist until two reports should he completed. One report, 
on the Stratigraphy of the Coastal Plain of the State, it was agreed, 
would be published by the Geological Survey of Georgia; while the 
other report, on the Underground Water Resources of the Coastal 
Plain of the State, would be published by the United States Geo¬ 
logical Survey. The manuscript I am transmitting to you is to be 
published by the. Geological Survey of Georgia. 

The Geological Survey of Georgia assigned for this work Mr. 
Otto Yeatch, Assistant State Geologist, while the United States 
Geological Survey assigned Dr. L. W. Stephenson. Dr. Yaughan 
has had general supervision of the investigations and he has con¬ 
tributed the determinations of the invertebrate fossils of the Tertiary 
and Quaternary formations and the inferences as to the correlation 
of the formations of these two systems. He has also contributed the 
results of his own field work, which has extended over a period from 
1900 to 1910. 


Dr. Stephenson is author of the section on the Cretaceous for¬ 
mations. In his paleontologic studies he has had ar his disposal, 
in addition to his own collections, exhaustive collections made by 
Dr. Stanton in 1891 from several localities on Chattahoochee 
River, and a number of smaller collections made by other investi¬ 
gators in Georgia. For purposes of comparison he was also given 
apcess to the various collections of Cretaceous fossils in the X nited 
Spates Rational Museum. Dr. Stephenson has also benefited from 
the suggestions and criticisms of Dr. Stanton, whose wide knowledge 
of the Cretaceous faunas of Rortli America amply tits him to pass 
judgment on the work of students of lesser experience. Mr. E. W. 
Berry, of Johns Hopkins University, has contributed lists of fossil 
paints from the Cretaceous formations of Georgia, with annotations, 
which have been incorporated in the report. Mr. "\ eatch has sup¬ 
plied numerous unpublished notes on the Cretaceous areas of Geor¬ 
gia, and has also contributed orally much information of value con¬ 
cerning the region. Mr. Veatch has written the chapter on the 
Physiography of the Coastal Plain, has furnished the list of eleva¬ 
tions, has written the introductory chapter on the geology of the 
Coastal Plain, and is the senior author of the section describing 
the Stratigraphy of the Tertiary and Quaternary formations. 
Dr. Stephenson participated in the field work within this area 
and has aided in the preparation of the manuscript 

Although this report constitutes a decided advance in our knowl¬ 
edge of the geology of the Coastal Plain of Georgia, there is still 
needed a large amount of detailed investigation. This statement 
particularly applies to the Tertiary and Quaternary formations. 
The statements in the report are, in the main, conservative, as it 
is desired not to claim greater definiteness or precision than the 
available facts warrant. The mode of treatment of the subject 
should assist in directing the further investigations of problems con¬ 
cerning which the present information is inadequate. 

Very respectfully, 

Geo. 0. Smith, 

Director. 




THE 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 
OF GEORGIA 


PHYSIOGRAPHY 

BY OTTO VEATCH 

As an introduction to the study of the physiography of the 
Coastal Plain the other physiographic divisions of the State will be 
briefly described. As these other divisions and the Coastal Plain 
are interrelated in their physiographic history, reference to them will 
make clearer the account of the geology and topography of the 
Coastal Plain. 

OTHER PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS OF THE STATE 

Following Hayes’ subdivisions of the Southern Appalachian 
province of the United States, the subdivisions in Georgia are, be¬ 
ginning on the northwest: (1) Cumberland Plateau; (2) Appa¬ 
lachian Valley; (3) Appalachian Mountains; (4) Piedmont Plain. 
The fifth physiographic division is the Coastal Plain, which, how¬ 
ever, is within itself a separate province. 

Cumberland Plateau .—The Cumberland Plateau is made up of 
flat-topped mountains or tablelands of Carboniferous strata, and 
occupies, in Dade and Walker counties, a small area which has an 
elevation of 1,500 to 2,300 feet above sea level. It is represented in 
Georgia by Lookout, Pigeon, and Sand or Kaccoon mountains. 
These mountains rise 700 to 1,400 feet above the valleys, and are 
characterized by comparatively flat tops and have steep, precipitous 
sides; they owe their form to the resistant character and synclinal 
structure of the rock capping them. 



26 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Appalachian Valley .—The Appalachian Valley lies between the 
Cumberland Plateau on the west and the Appalachian Mountains on 
the east. Considered as a whole it is a valley, since it is lower than 
the regions both to the east and west, but within itself it is a region 
of parallel ridges and corresponding subordinate valleys. The 
valley is 40 to 50 miles wide, extends from the Tennessee line to 
the southern part of Polk County and across the State into Alabama. 
It is limited on the east by an abrupt scarp of semi-crystalline 
schists of the Appalachian Mountain area, the Cartersville fault line. 
The province lies within the Paleozoic area and is in a region of 
intensely folded limestones, sandstones, and shales. The ridges 
have a north-south direction, are generally steep-sided and owe their 
existence both to the structure and the resistant-character of the rock 
composing them, while the valleys have been eroded from the softer 
strata. The valleys have an elevation above sea level of 600 to 900 
feet and the ridges, 1,000 to 1,800 feet. 

Appalachian Mountains .—The Appalachian Mountains area is 
composed mainly of the Blue Bidge, with lesser mountain groups, 
both to the' east and west. The area occupies the northeastern part 
of the State; it is roughly delimited on the south by a line from 
Clarkesville to Marietta, thence west to Bockmart,. Polk County. 
The Blue Bidge enters the State in Babun and Towns counties and 
loses its distinctively mountainous character in Pickens County. As 
contrasted with the Appalachian Valley and Cumberland Plateau, 
the region is one of vastly greater rock complexity, composed of 
igneous rocks and highly metamorphosed sediments, that have been 
subjected to great orogenic movements, intense folding and faulting, 
and erosion since early geological periods. The topography is more 
rugged, and there is a greater complexity of topographic forms, ir¬ 
regularity of drainage form, and less dependence of ridges upon the 
strike of the rock. The highest elevation above sea level is about 
5,000 feet, while there are a large number of “balds” or knobs which 
are above 4,000 feet. 

Piedmont Plain .—The Piedmont Plain lies between the Appa¬ 
lachian Mountains and the Coastal Plain. This is a southward slop¬ 
ing plain ranging in elevation from about 1,200 to 300-400 feet 
above sea level. . The region is one of great rock complexity like that 
of the Appalachian Mountain area, and the beds have been subjected 
to intense folding and faulting, but the surface has been planatcd by 
erosion, and with the exception of a few conspicuous elevations the 
land presents an even sky line. The streams generally conform to 
the slope of the plain, and have deeply trenched their courses, pro- 


PHYSIOGRAPHY 


27 


ducing a broken, or hilly topography, in places approaching moun¬ 
tain ruggedness, but the tops of the hills and ridges always present a 
level. 

COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 

The Georgia Coastal Plain includes that portion of the State 
lying south of the Piedmont Plain. The contact between these two 
divisions is known as the Fall Line. This is a somewhat indefinite 
line which derives its name from the falls or rapids in the rivers at 
the places where they pass from the Piedmont crystalline rocks to 
the softer and less resistant rocks of the Coastal Plain. In Georgia 
this line extends in a northeast-southwest course from Augusta 
through Milledgeville and Macon to Columbus. The “falls” are not 
precipitous and are indicated by a series of rapids. There is a merg¬ 
ing of the topography and the railway traveler in passing from one 
area to the other rarely recognizes the contact, which is more geo¬ 
logical than topographical. That is, no prominent topographic fea¬ 
ture separates the two regions. 

The Coastal Plain has an area of about 35,000 square miles if it 
is considered as confined to the area underlain by Cretaceous and 
later sediments, but considered purely as a physiographic division, 
it would perhaps include a portion of the crystalline area or repre¬ 
sent the original extent of the Coastal Plain beds and would then 
have an area between 36,000 and 37,000 square miles. 

Physiographically, the region is a low plain having a gentle south¬ 
ward tilt. In contrast to the other physiographic divisions of the 
State it has been subjected to the forces of erosion for only a com¬ 
paratively short time, and its topography over the greater part of 
the area may be described as youthful. On the w T hole, the Coastal 
Plain is level, although there are some hilly and broken areas in the 
northern part; the plain is dissected in places near the Fall Line, 
and the topography has a somewhat more mature aspect. The hills, 
however, never rise above a general level and their tops always pre¬ 
sent an even sky line. The rocks are mainly unconsolidated, sands, 
clays, and marls, and their structure is simple. There is consequently 
an absence of pronounced topographic features due to resistant va¬ 
rieties of rock and the folding of beds, such as characterize the Ap¬ 
palachian Valley and Appalachian Mountains. The plain reaches a 
maximum elevation of 650-700 feet between Macon and Columbus, 
and 500-600 feet between Macon and Augusta, and thence slopes 
gradually, at the rate of about three or four feet per mile to sea level. 
About one-half of it has an elevation of less than 300 feet, while a 
large area near the Atlantic coast, about one-seventh of the total, 
L less than 100 feet above sea level. The streams on the whole have 


28 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


not cut as deep courses as in the older divisions; tributary streams 
are fewer, and there are large areas, flat and undrained or but poorly 
drained, particularly in the southeastern part. 

While the Coastal Plain may be described as a low, level plain, in 
comparison with the Appalachian Valley, Appalachian Mountains 
and Piedmont Plain, it is not entirely featureless and within itself 
presents topographic contrasts. The writer has made the following 
physiographic divisions: (1) Pall Line hills; (2) Dougherty plain; 
(3) Altamaha upland; (4) Southern lime-sink region ;> (5) Okefen- 
okee plain; (6) Satilla coastal lowland. The location and extent of 
these divisions may be seen by reference to the map below. 



Fig. 1.—Sketch map showing physiographic divisions of the Coastal Plain of 

Georgia. 


FALL LINE HILLS 

The Fall Line hills division, as the name indicates, occupies the 
upper portion of the Coastal Plain. The northern extent is that of 
the Coastal Plain sediments, or approximately the Fall Line, south of 
which it forms a belt 40 to 50 miles wide, entirely across the State. 





PHYSIOGRAPHY 


29 


It can not be sharply defined, as on the north the topography merges 
into that of the Piedmont Plain and on the south into the level and 
less broken land of the Dougherty Plain and the Altamaha Upland. 
In this region, more than in any of the other divisions, the topo¬ 
graphic features are due to surface erosion. Stream erosion is more 
active on account of the greater altitude and has been in progress for 
a greater period of time. The. region is characterized by flat-topped 
hills or ridges and deep gullies or “washes.” The larger streams 
have cut courses 200 to 350 feet below the level of the upland plain 
and the northern portion of the belt is as broken as the adjacent 
Piedmont Plain. The region is underlain mainly by sands and 
clays of the Cretaceous and Eocene and their softness has been fa¬ 
vorable for rapid erosion. 

In elevation above sea level the higher land west of the Ocmulgee 
River varies from approximately 350 to 700 feet; that east of the 
Ocmulgee, from 300 to 600 feet. The elevations of low water at 
Columbus, Macon, Milledgeville and Augusta are respectively: 190, 
278.6, 241.29, and 98 feet. 

Two types of hills are commonly recognized, the sand hills and 
the red hills. The sand hills are best developed in the upper part 
of the belt and are conspicuous in Richmond, Crawford, Taylor, 
Talbot, Marion and other counties, and are really no more than flat 
ridges which have a notable covering of gray or brownish, superficial 
sand. The sand is almost pure quartz, incoherent or loose, and 
varies in thickness from three or four to twenty or thirty feet, but the 
average thickness over the sand hills is perhaps not more than five 
or six feet. This sand is probably residual from the underlying 
Cretaceous and Eocene formations. (See p. 451.) The soil is poorly 
productive, and the tree growth is mainly stunted oak and scattered 
long-leaf pine. 

The lower portion of the Fall Line hills belt is mainly red hills, 
and the gray superficial sand is less widely distributed. The soil of 
these hills is a bright red sand or red, sandy loam, which is residual 
from the underlying geological formations, chiefly the Eocene. The 
red hills are conspicuous in Wilkinson, Twiggs, Houston, Macon, 
Sumter, Terrell, Randolph, and Stewart counties. 

The deep gullies, also known as “washes” and “caves,” which ap¬ 
pear in this region, are worthy of note. The softness of the strata 
together with the high altitudes of the plain above the rivers, timber 
denudation, and cultivation of the land, have been especially favor¬ 
able for rapid erosion, and some of the deepest gullies, 100 to 175 
feet, are known to have formed since the settlement of the country. 
Perhaps the largest and most picturesque of the gullies are located 


30 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

west and north of Lumpkin, Stewart County. The gullies at Provi¬ 
dence, eight miles west of Lumpkin, are 100 to 175 feet in depth, 
and from 200 yards to one-fourth mile in length. The greatest width 
is at the head, due to the union of a number of tributary gullies, so 
that a plan of the upper edge would be roughly bottle-shaped or 
pear-shaped. A transverse profile would be V-shaped; a longitudinal 
profile would be roughly L-shaped, the horizontal line of the letter, 
of course, greatly exceeding in length the vertical line. That is, 
the head of the gully is precipitous and the gradient of the floor so 
low that the water which flows through the gully is unable to carry 
the load of sand which is washed down, and it is spread out as deltas 
and “sand streams.” An excellent illustration of a “sand stream 
is shown in plate XIV, B, opposite page 160. The strata are uncon¬ 
solidated sand, containing soft clay layers, and are hence, easily 
eroded. The recession of the gullies has been very rapid, and the 
deepest gully is known to have worked back 300 feet in about 30 
years, and to have washed out a space of 10 or 15 acres. As much 
as five or even ten feet “cave” or slump at one time after very heavy 
rain storms. These gullies are the most picturesque features of 
the Coastal Plain, presenting curious erosion forms, pinnacles, 
“islands,” or blocks of strata cut off from the adjacent land by 
erosion, and sharp serrated ridges, while the bright red and white 
sands and the dark green pine tops present a vivid color contrast. 
Similar deep washes or gullies appear in Quitman, Webster, Marion, 
Crawford, Houston, Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington counties. 
The deep washes on the south side of Rich Hill, Crawford County, 
are, next to the Providence gullies, perhaps the most picturesque. 
The famous Lyell gullies four miles west of Milledgeville are properly 
within this area, although they are cut entirely in residual clay de¬ 
rived from granite, since a few remnants of the Coastal Plain sedi¬ 
ments appear at this locality. The gullies are about 50 feet deep. 
They were visited by Sir Charles Lyell in 1842, and subsequently 
described in his “Travels in Xorth America.” 

DOUGHERTY PLAIN 

This division occupies a large area in the western part of the 
Coastal Plain. It is characterized by very level tracts, and there 
are few elevations that may properly be termed hills; it is a region 
in which there are comparatively few small streams and blanches 
and consequently one in which there is little surface erosion, the 
drainage being in large measure subterranean. It is further char¬ 
acterized by numerous lime-sinks, which form shallow depressions 
in otherwise level tracts. This division extends from the Chatta- 


PHYSIOGRAPHY 


31 


lioochee to a few miles east of Flint River, and includes the greater 
part or all of the counties of Decatur, Miller, Mitchell, Early, 
Baker, Calhoun, Dougherty, Randolph, Terrell, Lee and Sumter. 
A small strip extends eastward from the Flint to the Oconee, includ¬ 
ing parts of Dooly, Houston, Pulaski, and Laurens counties, and 
includes most of the area underlain by the limestones of the Vicks¬ 
burg formation. It is rather sharply differentiated from the Alta- 
maha Upland on the east and south, but merges into the Fall Line 
hills on the north. 

In elevation above sea level it varies from approximately 125 
feet in Decatur County'to 450 feet in the southern part of Houston 
County. Much the greater portion of the area is less than 300 feet. 

Due to the extensive underground solution of the soft underlying 
limestone, lime-sinks are very numerous and characteristic of the 
region. These vary in size from small, shallow depressions not more 
than 100 to 200 feet in diameter to those occupying several hundred 
acres and to chains of sinks several miles in extent. The sinks 
usually contain water, forming shallow ponds or lakes, and the shal¬ 
low ponds usually contain a thick growth of cypress and other trees. 
The amount of water in the ponds and lakes varies with the seasons, 
and during droughts the smaller ones become dry. The recent desic¬ 
cation of the sinks is also partly attributed to the removal of timber, 
thus permitting increased evaporation and oxidation of organic 
matter. Sink's are also known to have been suddenly drained 
through subterranean passages. 

The absence of numerous small tributary creeks and branches is 
due not so much to the newness of the land surface as to the fact that 
a large portion of the drainage is through subterranean streams. 
Most of the large creeks flow sluggishly through wide, swampy val¬ 
leys, and rarely have any considerable bluffs along their courses. 
Chattahoochee, Flint and Ocmulgee rivers have cut deep, terraced val¬ 
leys 75 to 200 feet below the plain, but have comparatively few 
tributary streams. 

ALT AM AH A UPLAND 

This area constitutes the largest physiographic division of the 
Coastal Plain. Its northern boundary is marked by an irregular 
line between Waynesboro, Tennille, Dublin, Cochran, and Vienna, 
its western edge thence lying parallel to and a few miles east of 
Flint River and extending to Decatur County. On the southeast 
it extends into Effingham, Liberty, Wayne, Pierce, Ware, and Clinch 
counties, and merges into the sandy pine flats of the Okefenokee 
Plain. It embraces most of the region popularly known as the 


32 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

“wire-grass country,” and is underlain mainly by the Altamaha 
(Lafayette?) and Alum Bluff formations. The geology, topography, 
and flora of this region are of peculiar scientific interest and have 
been the subject of a number of papers and articles. 

The region is an upland only in comparison with the low coastal 
plains on the southeast and the adjacent Dougherty plain on the 
west, and on the whole is lower than the Fall Line Hills to the north. 
It varies in elevation above sea-level from about 125 to 470 feet. 
It reaches the highest elevation on the north and west, thence there 
is a gradual slopb southeast. There is a steep ascent or escarpment 
on the west, separating it from' the Flint Biver lowland, which is 
prominent enough, even in this region of low relief, to be dis¬ 
tinguished by the observant traveler without the aid of topographic 
maps. For example, the rise from Camilla to Pelham, Mitchell 
County, over the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad is 185 feet in a dis¬ 
tance of eight miles, and the rise from Bainbridge east to Climax is 
175 feet. Arabi, Crisp County, Ashburn, Sylvester, Pelham, and 
Climax may be considered as marking approximately the crest of 
the escarpment; thence there is a decrease in elevation to the south¬ 
east. 

A characteristic of the topography is low, rolling hills, with smooth 
or softened outlines, which do not rise except along the large rivers 
more than 40 or 50 feet above the valleys. There is an absence of 
any features suggesting ruggedness, yet at the same time the region 
is not a monotonous level or flat. 

The soil is generally sandy and in places there is a thick mantle 
of loose gray sand. The area was originally covered with a wonder¬ 
ful forest of long-leaf pine. A characteristic growth is wire-grass, 
Aristida stricta, a long and round-bladed, stiff grass, growing in tufts, 
six to eight inches high. 

Streams are much more numerous than in the Dougherty Plain 
and the coastal flats. The Altamaha, Ocmulgee, and Oconee rivers 
have cut valleys 100 to 150 feet below the upland, and have made 
precipitous bluffs in a few places, but with these exceptions the 
valleys are shallow and those of the small streams may be described 
as dish-shaped, or as having low breast-like slopes. The creeks are 
generally sluggish and flow through broad, swampy bottoms and 

moughridge, R. H., Tenth Census, Vol. VI, Georgia, pp. 15 and 49. 

Dali, W. H., U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 84, p. 81. 

Harper, R. M., Phytogeographical Sketch of the Altamaha Grit Region of Georgia : 
Annals N. Y. Acad. Sci., Vol. XVII, pt. I, 1906. 

McCallie, S. W., Underground Waters of Georgia: Ga. Geol. Survey, Bull. 15, pp. 
31-32. 

Veatch, Otto, Altamaha Formation of the Coastal Plain of Georgia: Sci., Vol. 
XXVII, 1908, pp. 71-74. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE I. 



A. PYLES MARSH, 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF BRUNSWICK, SHOWING TIMBER 
KILLED BY THE ENCROACHMENT OF SALT WATER UPON THE 
LAND. OLD STUMPS IN THE FOREGROUND. 









































































































































































PHYSIOGRAPHY 


33 


are characterized, by “clear” water, or water free from sediment, in 
contrast to the muddy water of the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Alta- 
maba. Many of tbe creeks and branches have their sources in flat, 
moist, densely wooded areas locally known as “bays,” a name prob¬ 
ably suggested by the dense growth of bay trees in these areas. 
The name “bay” is generally applied to upland, flat, swampy tracts 
m which water stands, due to imperfect drainage and dense vege¬ 
tation which conserves the rainfall. These areas are really swamps 
but are not alluvial in character. Cluffs Bay, about seven miles 
west of Waycross (see map opposite page 44), is an example. The 
name is also applied to arms of creek and river swamps which form 
entrants into the dry land and are characterized by a dense growth of 
bay trees. The bays contain water, but there is no well defined 
channel of a stream or “run.” The water is furnished directly by 
rainfall and by seepage from the surrounding higher land. 

In the southeastern part of the Altamaha upland, the land becomes 
more level, and finally merges into the moist pine flats of the Okefe- 
nokee plain. Throughout this part there are numerous small cypress 
ponds, and the valleys of the small streams become more swampy, 
and the streams themselves have banks not more than a foot or two 
high. The ponds appear to be the result of shallow depressions or 
slight irregularities left in the land surface after the retreat of the 
last sea which covered this area. (See page 42.) Along the north¬ 
ern and western edges of this division in Screven, Wilcox, Crisp, 
Turner, Worth, and Decatur counties, lime-sinks were noted, due 
to the underground solution most probably of the Chattahoochee 
limestone formation. 

One of the most interesting features of the Altamaha upland is 
the “sand hills” which border many of the creeks and rivers. These 
hills slope towards the streams which they border, but may be only 
very slightly higher, or not at all higher, than the upland back from 
the stream. They are made up of gray, yellow, or light brown, un¬ 
consolidated, structureless quartz sand, which in places reaches a 
thickness of as much as 30 feet. These sand belts may reach a width 
of as much as two or three miles, parallel to the streams. It has been 
observed that the sand ridges are generally on the east or left sides 
of the streams. The only explanation of this which can be offered, 
and this explanation is merely tentative, is that the prevailing winds 
might have caused the westward slopes of the ridges to be the steeper, 
and that the steep slope governed the direction of the present streams 
by acting as a barrier. These sand deposits appear to be at higher 
elevations than the accumulations of loose sand on the first and 
second Pleistocene terraces of the large rivers. The most prominent 


34 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


of the sand hills or sand belts are those on the east side of the Ohoo- 
pee River, in Tattnall County, near Reidsville; along the east side 
of the Cannoochee; on the Little Ocmulgee near Helena; along 
Satilla River from Waycross, westward; and on the east and north 
side of Pendleton Creek, in Emanuel and Toombs counties. At the 
foot of these hills are sometimes densely wooded, moist sandbeds 
known as “hammocks.” There are in some places shallow depres¬ 
sions, so-called “sand hill” ponds, in these sand belts, which contain 
water during rainy periods. The origin of these sands is not yet well 
understood. They may have.been formed during the Pleistocene 
period, and may be of fluviatile origin; they have doubtless been 
shifted and in part redeposited by wind. 

In comparison with the Dougherty plain, the Altamaha upland has 
a rolling topography, streams are more numerous, and while there are 
a few lime-sinks along its borders, it is on the whole in contrast to the 
level lime-sink tracts of the former region. It is not so entirely fea¬ 
tureless as the swampy tracts along the coast and is better drained. In 
contrast to the Eall Line hills, there is an absence of ruggedness, and 
the valleys are shallower and in addition there is a notable difference 
in the flora. 1 


SOUTHERN LIME-SINK REGION 

The Southern lime-sink region occupies a small area in the south¬ 
ern part of the State. It embraces the southeastern part of Decatur 
and the southern halves of Grady, Thomas, Brooks and Lowndes 
counties and extends into Florida. This division is hilly and is char¬ 
acterized by lime-sinks, lakes, and ponds. 

In elevation above sea level, it varies from 150 to 275 feet and the 
hills rise 50 to 75 feet above the valleys and in a few places as much 
as 100 feet. The topography is more rugged than that of the adjacent 
Altamaha upland and the Dougherty plain. This difference and 
other characteristics of the division are due mainly to the nature of 
the underlying geological formations. The lime-sinks are due to the 
underground solution of an upper Oliogocene limestone, the Chatta¬ 
hoochee formation, but this is not the surface formation and is over- 
lain by 50 to 100 feet of sand and clay which is soft and easily eroded, 
and which probably accounts for the topography being more rugged 
than that in the western lime-sink region. The lakes and ponds are 
due to depressions caused by the underground solution of limestone 
or are lime-sinks which contain water. Some of the lakes are several 
hundred acres in area and are free from timber growth, but the 
smaller and shallower ponds support a thick cypress growth. Ocean 

^Ecological studies in this region have been made by Dr. R. M. Harper. Annals. 
New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. XVII, No. 1, and other papers. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 


35 


Pond, in the southern part of Lowndes County, is one of the largest 
ponds or lakes and has an area of about six square miles. The water- 
level in these sinks varies with the seasons, and the water has been 
kn° wn suddenly to disappear or to rise, due probably to the opening 
or stoppage of underground passages. 

The drainage, as in the Dougherty plain, is to some extent subter- 
1 anean and hence, small streams are not numerous. The rivers which 
flow through the region, the Ocklockonee and Withlacoochee, flow 
canal-like, through broad sand-covered terrace plains. The water of 
the streams is not muddy, but is dark on account of dissolved and 
suspended organic matter, while that of the lakes is clear. 

The soil is in many places red, sandy clay, and loam, and the su¬ 
perficial gray sand, characteristic of the Altamaha upland, is not so 
widely distributed. The tree growth differs somewhat from that of 
the wire-grass region to the north, in that along with the long-leaf 
pine there is some oak and hickory. 

OKEFENOKEE PLAIN 

This division forms a narrow north-south strip 20 to 40 miles wide 
in the southeastern part of the Coastal Plain, and includes parts of 
Effingham, Bryan, Liberty, Wayne, Pierce, Camden, Ware, Charlton, 
Clinch, and Echols counties. On the west this division is approxi¬ 
mately marked by a line from the northeast corner of Effingham 
County, southwestward to near Groveland, Bryan County, thence a 
few miles south of Glenville, to near Jesup, and Way cross, and is 
continued in the western boundary of Okefenokee Swamp. There is 
only a poorly defined escarpment separating this plain from the Alta¬ 
maha upland and the two merge, hut on the east it is separated from 
a lower coastal terrace by an abrupt descent or escarpment, which 
will be mentioned later. 

The Okefenokee plain is essentially a featureless, sandy flat, in 
which there are but few streams. It thus presents a contrast to the 
rolling topography and dendritic drainage of the Altamaha upland. 
It is dotted with small cypress and gum ponds and swamps, varying 
from a few acres or a few miles in extent to the immense Okefenokee 
Swamp. This swamp is one of the most interesting natural features 
of the Atlantic Coast and will be described later. The region varies 
in elevation above sea-level from about 60 to perhaps 125 feet and has 
an eastward slope of about two feet per mile. The drainage is poor, 
at least 25 per cent, of the area being swampy. There are but few 
branches and creeks and these flow through broad, swampy flats, only 
slightly lower than the general level. The striking difference in the 
number of small streams tributary to Satilla, Altamaha, and Cannoo- 


36 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


chee rivers in the Altamaha upland and in the Okefenokee plain may 
be seen by examination of the map of the State. Streams have in only 
a few places bluffs as much as 30 or 40 feet high. The flatness of the 
plain and its swampy condition are due both to the newness of the 
land surface, since the retreat of the sea took place at a comparatively 
recent geological time, together with the low altitude and the fact that 
the surface has a heavy covering of loose, porous sand, which absorbs 
the rainfall and hence lessens surface erosion. The streams are slug¬ 
gish and with the exception of the Altamaha and Savannah, the water 
in them is black or coffee color from organic matter. This region is 
characterized by moist, long-leaf pine and saw-palmetto flats, cypress 
ponds, gallberry flats, and a thick growth of gums and bays in 
swamps. 

The facts in favor of considering this plain a wave-built, marine 
terrace, recently raised above sea level, rather than a plain of alluvia¬ 
tion or a plain of denudation by stream erosion are: the trend of the 
plain parallel to the coast and its parallelism to a lower and younger 
plain, (the Satilla coastal lowland or Satilla plain) which is surfaced 
with undisturbed beach sand and muds containing shells and other evi¬ 
dence of near coast deposition; this lower plain is separated from the 
higher plain by an escarpment which doubtless represents former coast 
bluffs and there is a poorly defined escarpment on the west of the Oke¬ 
fenokee plain which is more or less parallel to the lower escarpment. 
The Okefenokee plain is covered with a uniform or homogenous de¬ 
posit of white incoherent sand, which is uncharacteristic of a fluviatile 
deposit in its structure and composition. There is no well developed 
drainage system and there are large undrained areas and swamps, 
whieh are most plausibly explained as being due to original, inequal¬ 
ities in the land surface. 

SATILLA COASTAL LOWLAND OR SATILLA PLAIN 

This division is a low marine terrace plain bordering the Atlantic 
Ocean. It is 20 to 35 miles wide and includes parts or all of the 
counties of Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden. 
(See map on page 28.) The western edge of the plain is 
marked by a rise or escarpment 20 to 40 feet high, which is prominent 
at Walthourville, Mount Pleasant, and Waynesville, and a short dis¬ 
tance east of Folkston. This escarpment may mark a Pleistocene 
shore line. 

The greater part of the plain is 15 to 25 feet above sea level, but 
there are a few places which reach an elevation of about 40 feet. The 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 


37 


4 


plain has a slight eastward slope, somewhat difficult 
to estimate, but probably not more than a foot to the 
mile. Although it is a low, flat, poorly drained plain, 
it presents several different topographic aspects. It 
differs from the Okefenokee plain chiefly in its lower 
altitude, greater area of swamp and inundated land, 
and in topographic forms incident to low coast land. 

The western part is on the whole a sandy flat plain 
containing an open growth of long-leaf pine. Orig¬ 
inally, in the spring and summer, grass and flowers 
were luxuriant in open areas, termed meadows or 
savannas. This plain is dotted with small cypress 
ponds and also contains large swamp areas, in this 
respect resembling the higher Okefenokee plain. 

The coast line presents a different aspect. Due to 
recent submergence, the coast line is irregular and a 
network of sea-islands, tidal rivers, sounds, estuaries, 
and marshes have been formed. The land terminates 
as beach on the sea-islands, and in low sand bluffs, 
not more than 10 or 15 feet above low tide, and as 
marshes at the mouths of the rivers flowing into the 
ocean. The islands are sand-covered, and some of 
them exhibit sand dunes, but the dunes nowhere reach 
great magnitude. The islands form in the aggregate 
an area of perhaps 500 to 600 square miles. The 
largest are Cumberland, Jekyl, St. Simon, Sapelo, St. 
Catherine, Skidaway, and Tybee. They are of con¬ 
siderable historical interest and some of them are 
noted as resorts. 

The tree growth of the coast land is characterized 
by the cabbage palmetto and live oaks, which are 
more abundant than farther west. 

There are two classes of swamp land, the upland 
swamp and the tidal swamp. The first is represented 
by such swamps as Buffalo Swamp in the western 
part of Glynn County which probably represent the 
sites of former shallow sounds or coastal lagoons and 
marshes which have become land surface through up¬ 
lift and the retreat of the sea approximately to its 
present position. After this movement, however, 
there was again a subsidence of the coast as is indi¬ 
cated by drowned river courses. This subsidence 


3F 

2E 


-Jesup 


OKEFENOKEE 

PLAIN 


(- Everett 


SATILLA 

PLAIN 

^Brunswick 


J An excellent description is given by R. H. Loughridge, Tent 
Census, Vol. 6, Cotton Production, Georgia, p. 51. 


ATLANTIC 

OCEAN 










38 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


seems to be going on at present, causing the sea slowly to encroach 
on the land. The best proof of this is the presence of tree stumps 
and even dead standing trees in brackish water marshes. (See plate 
I, A, opposite page 32.) 

Considerable areas of “tide swamp” occurs along the Savannah, 
Ogeechee, Altamaha, Satilla, and St. Marys rivers. This lowland 
bordering the rivers is partly submerged at high tide, and differs 
from the marsh land chiefly in that it is covered by fresh water and 
not salt as in the case of the marsh. Tide swamp extends up the 
above named rivers 10 to 20 miles above the salt marsh, and was at 
one time utilized in rice-growing and is still so used to a small extent. 

The salt marsh reaches its greatest extent at the mouths of the riv¬ 
ers, but probably does not aggregate more than 150 or- 200 square 
miles. 1 The marsh land is probably due in the main to submergence 
of the coast, although the silting up of water areas, by sediment car¬ 
ried down by streams, has also doubtless been a factor. 

The plain is poorly drained and there are but few streams owing 
to the newness of the land surface and its low altitude. The streams 
are sluggish, and are so-called “clear water streams,” except the Sa¬ 
vannah and the Altamaha, the waters of which are yellow from sus¬ 
pended sediment. The waters of the other streams, however, are 
dark or even black from organic matter. The slight eastward slope 
of the plain has caused the streams to flow directly east to the ocean. 
An interesting effect of the slight eastward slope of this and the higher 
Okefenokee plain is observed in the case of the Satilla and Little Sa¬ 
tilla rivers in Camden County. The Satilla has no tributaries at all 
entering from the east, and the head branches of the Little Satilla are 
extended to within one and one-half miles of the Satilla near 
Atkinson. 

Recent submergence has caused a drowning of the streams and in 
consequence the mouths of the large rivers have been converted into 
estuaries and rendered navigable by sea-going vessels from 10 to 20 
miles from the coast, and small streams which, so far as their lengths 
are concerned, are really no more than branches or creeks, have been 
enlarged and are styled rivers. In this latter class are such streams 
as Crooked River, Turtle River, and Sapelo River. There is also a 
network of serpentine water-ways on the sea islands which are 
termed rivers and creeks, but are really no more than natural tidal 
canals. 


*No survey of the marsh land of the State has yet been made, and hence accurate 
figures can not he given. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 


39 


TERRACES 

THe terraces constitute an interesting physiographic subject in the 
study of the Coastal Plain. They are intimately connected with the 
Pleistocene geology and the subject demands further study with the 
aid of detailed topographic maps, before final conclusions can be of¬ 
fered. 

Two 1 broad terrace plains parallel to the coast are easily 
recognized, while the large rivers are bordered by fluviatile terraces 
believed to be equivalent in age to the two coastal terrace plains. The 
terraces are illustrated in fig. 2 and PL II. The older is desig¬ 
nated the Okefenokee plain, and the younger the Satilla plain. For 
the area of these plains see map on page 4. 

The river terraces are best developed in the upper part of the 
Coastal Plain along Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, and Savannah riv¬ 
ers, and are conspicuous at Columbus, Macon, and Augusta. The 
lower or younger terrace, also known as “second bottoms,” lies 15 to 
50 feet above the rivers, and is a smooth plain, varying roughly from 
one-half to three or four miles in width. The second terrace lies 50 to 
100 feet above the rivers; it is in this plain that the lower has been 
cut, and it has been modified to a greater extent by erosion. The up¬ 
land plain bordering the rivers is from 125 to 250 or 300 feet above 
river levels. The terraces will receive further mention in the chap¬ 
ters on Pleistocene geology. 

DRAIXAGE OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

The drainage of the Coastal Plain discharges into the Atlantic 
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The drainage basins, according to a 
map by B. M. Hall, 2 are: (1) Savannah Basin; (2) Ogeechee Basin; 
(3) Alt amah a Basin; (4) Satilla and St. Marys Basin; (5) 
Suwanee Basin; (6) Ocklockonee Basin; (7) Apalachicola Basin, 
drained by the Chattahoochee and the Flint. The first four dis- 

llt is not improbable that a third higher terrace plain exists, but sufficient proof of 
its existence has not been obtained to warrant positive statements. 

2 Water Powers of Georgia. Geol. Survey Ga., Bull. No. 3-A, p. 16. 



40 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


charge into the Atlantic and form considerably the larger drainage 
area; the remaining three discharge into the Gulf of Mexico. 

The rivers of the Coastal Plain fall naturally into two simple ' 
classes: (1) those originating in the Piedmont Plain and Appala¬ 
chian Mountains and thence traversing the Coastal Plain; (2) native 
streams or those having their source within the Coastal plain. To 
the first class belong Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee, Oconee, AI- 
tamaha, Savannah, and Ogeechee rivers, although the last through¬ 
out the greater part of its course Ijas the aspect of a stream of the sec¬ 
ond class. The rivers of the second class are much more numerous, 
and the principal ones are the Little Ocmulgee, Ohoopee, Cannoochee, 
Satilla, St. Marys Suwanee, Allapaha, Withlacoochee, and Ocklocko- 
nee. 

The rivers of the first class have greater drainage areas, carry a 
greater volume of water, have greater lengths, and have cut deeper 
and wider valleys. The water of these rivers is always muddy, ex¬ 
cept that of the Ogeechee, whereas the water of the streams of the sec¬ 
ond class are clear, and this fact furnishes a popular distinction— 
“clear water” 1 and “muddy water” streams. Especially the Ocmul¬ 
gee, Oconee, Altamaha, and Savannah are bordered by broad lowlands 
or swamps, in which a large part of the sediment is clay, while the 
smaller Coastal Plain rivers of the second class have sandy banks and 
the low terraces bordering them are composed almost entirely of sand. 
The explanation is that in the one case a large amount of sediment is 
derived from the red clay hills of the Piedmont Plain; while in the 
other the streams flow through geological formations that are predom¬ 
inantly sand, a region where erosion is not active, many of the 
smaller streams having not even cut through the superficial sands. 

The rivers across the Coastal Plain probably assumed their courses 
-on a comparatively level plain, following the retreat of the sea from 
fhe land, and extended their courses across the new land surface, so 
that, for example, the age of the Ocmulgee at the Fall Line is much 
greater than the lower 20 or 30 miles of the Altamaha or that part 
which flows across the later Pleistocene plain. The directions of the 
streams are due to the initial slope of the new land surface upon which 
they started their courses. Thus all of the rivers have general south, 
southeast and east courses, since the tilting of the land surfaces has 
been in these directions. The rivers have not in all cases formed 
straight courses to the coast on account of the interposition of certain 

^hile the native streams of the Coastal Plain are termed “clear,” the water 
is clear only in that it is comparatively free from suspended silt and clay. The water 
does not possess the transparency of clear mountain streams, but Is pale brownish or 
even bjack from organic matter held in solution and suspension. The water of 
Suwanee and St. Marys rivers, near their source, the Okefenokee Swamp, is of almost 
inky blackness. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GhORGlA. 


PLATE II. 



A. TERRACE AND ESCARPMENT BORDERING ST. MARYS RIVER (FLORIDA 
SIDE) OPPOSITE TRADERS HILL. CHARLTON COUNTY, GA. 



B SATILLA TERRACE PLAIN IMMEDIATELY WEST OF NEW SAVANNAH 
BLUFF, SAVANNAH RIVER, RICHMOND COUNTY. 

















physiography 


41 


topographic and geologic factors. The direction of a stream might 

inr!iSr d6 fl eCted b { Shght ^regularities in the new land surfaced 

S in cnt a tt° r H " b l Certain ge ° l0gical conditio -> ~ 

xered m cutting down its course. 

''„ The S *; M ®ry s and Satilla rivers present a curious anomaly in the 

44 ) S6S The en - t0 rea f Cb the , sea - ( See ma P opposite page 

SwLn fl St 1S l UeS fr0m the southem end of Okefenokee 

mTCrt fl ? S T f ° r f° Ut } 5 miles ’ thence east for about eight 
■ ov ’™ -T r kes a r lg ht-an g le turn and flows north for a distance 

tc ST A®rt mdes and t0 Wlthln four miles of the Satilla, thence flows 
to the Atlantic m a course slightly south of east. The Satilla has 
its source in the Altamaha upland and flows eastward as far as At¬ 
kinson m Wayne County, then instead of taking the most direct 
course to the ocean, which would be the course of the Little Satilla it 
flows south for more than 20 miles, thence makes an abrupt turn and 
flows east to the Atlantic. These rivers are young, dating probably 
4rom the Pleistocene, and are flowing across a newly formed land 
surface. Their peculiar courses are probably due to the original un¬ 
even surface of the upraised sea-floor, caused by low sand ridges or 
sand heaps such as are incidental to beaches and very shallow seas 
bordering a low sandy coast-land. The most direct course to the 
ocean, and the one in conformity with the general slope of the land, 
which the St. Marys might have taken, is through St. Johns River, 
hlonda but it was probably deflected to the north by a low sand 
ridge There is algo a sand ridge separating the St. Marys and the 
featilla, which probably prevented their junction. 

The almost direct south courses of the Allapaha, Withlacooohee, 
Little, and Ocklockonee rivers are probably due to a low, southward¬ 
dipping and flat topped arch in the upper Oligocene strata. A 
similar flexure probably. exists along the Chattahoochee, as is indi¬ 
cated by the unequal drainage divide between the Flint and the Chat¬ 
tahoochee, the great depth to which the latter river has cut its valley, 
its trench-like channel and the absence of flood plain swamp, in con¬ 
trast to the other large rivers. 

The general southeastward and eastward courses of the Satilla, Al¬ 
tamaha, Ogeechee, Savannah and other streams in the eastern half 
of the Coastal Plain, is in consequence of the initial tilt of the land 
surface on which they originated. The explanation of the general 
insignificance and shortness of northward and westward flowing trib¬ 
utary streams is hence obvious. 

LAKES AND PONDS 

The lakes and ponds of the Coastal Plain are of three types: (1) 
those due to lime-sinks; (2) those caused by original shallow depres- 


42 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


sions in the land surfaces after the retreat of the sea; (3) river 

flood-plain lakes. t 

Lime-sink lakes and ponds are confined mainly to the western and 
southwestern parts of the Coastal Plain, to the areas described above 
as Dougherty plain and Southern lime-sink region, but there are also 
lime-sinks and small ponds in Screven County, in the southern parts 
of Burke, Jefferson, and Washington counties, and along the western 
edge of the Altamaha upland. The depressions which lakes and ponds 
of this type occupy are the result of underground solution of lime¬ 
stone with the formation of subterranean caverns, the roofs of which 
become weakened and fall in, causing depressions at the surfape. The 
process by which they were formed is in operation at the present 
time, and sinks have formed since the settlement of these regions. 
They vary in size from ponds from 100 to 200 feet in diameter to 
lakes of an area of as much as six square miles. The shallow ponds 
often become dry and the water level in the larger and deeper ponds 
varies considerably with the seasons. Some attain considerable depth, 
and are connected by open passages with underground channels, an 
example of which is the Lime-sink, Forest Falls, eight miles north 
of Whigham, Grady County. A small stream flows into this sink, 
which is about 90 feet deep, and disappears through an opening in the 
bottom. 

The most notable of the larger lakes are Ocean Pond and Long 
Pond in Lowndes County, Original Pond, three miles west of Met¬ 
calf, and Rock Pond, near Camilla, Mitchell County. 

The second class represent depressions in level sandy plains. 
These are usually shallow ponds of small area and most of them con¬ 
tain a growth of cypress and gum. They are dependent upon seep¬ 
age and become dry, with a few exceptions, in times of severe drought. 
They are numerous in the southeastern part of the Altamaha upland, 
are typically developed on the Okefenokee plain, and also appear on 
the Satilla marine terrace plain 20 to 40 feet above sea level. It is 
probable that these ponds for the most part occupy shallow'depressions 
which were present on the plains when they were first uplifted and 
became land surface, there, as yet, not having been sufficient subaerial 

erosion to efface them. . 

There are also a number of untimbered expanses of water m the 
Okefenokee Swamp which are termed “lakes.” (See map opposite 

page 44.) ... , 

The third class represent abandoned channels of rivers and occur 
in river flood-plains. This is the type of lake so extensively devel¬ 
oped along the lower course of the Mississippi. They are in the form 
of ox-bows, or are elongated, rarely circular; their water is usually 


PHYSIOGRAPHY 


43 


affected by high water or overflow of the rivers along which they oc¬ 
cur and is less clear than that of the lime-sink lakes and ponds. They 
may be connected with the river or their mouths may be silted up 
entirely, depending upon how recently they have been formed, but 
they are all subject to overflow during flood stages of the rivers. 
Hershman Lake in Screven County and Black Lake in Wilkinson 
County are the best examples of this type. Other lakes occur along 
the lower courses of the Oconee and Altamaha. 

FLUVIATILE AND UPLAND SWAMPS 

The fresh water swamps of considerable areas are of two. 
types: fluviatile swamps and upland plain swamps. The latter 
appear along the coastal belt and owe their existence to the flatness 
and consequent imperfect drainage of the land surface. They are 
upland in that they lie at a higher level than the river swamps, and 
also in comparison with the river tide-swamp and the salt marshes 
although they may not be more than 20 feet above sea level. Okefe- 
nokee Swamp is a large upland swamp. 

Nearly all of the streams of the Coastal Plain, even the small 
branches, are bordered by swamps. The most extensive are those 
bordering the large rivers of the first class. The swamp land lies 
only a few feet above the rivers and the frequent overflows maintain 
it in a swampy condition. Along the lower part of Savannah River 
the swamp reaches a width of five or six miles; it is densely wooded 
with a growth of oak, ash, cypress, gum, and pine. There are also 
broad swamp areas along the Ogeechee, Altamaha, Oconee, Ocmulgee, 
and upper part of the Flint; the Chattahoochee forms an exception 
since there is scarcely any land along its course in Georgia which could 
be termed swamp. 

The small branches, creeks, and rivers flow through broad, densely 
wooded lowlands, very often spreading out through the trees until it 
is difficult to determine just where the channel proper is located, and 
in places necessitating low bridges ‘or a succession of bridges one- 
fourth to one mile in length to effect a safe road crossing. Swamps 
of such character are notable along Ogeechee River, Williamson’s 
Swamp Creek, in Jefferson County; Commissioner’s Creek, in Wil¬ 
kinson County; and along the head waters of Little and Allapaha 
rivers in Tift, Irwin, and Berrien counties. 

The amount of fluviatile or river and creek flood-plain swamp 
amounts to perhaps 1,000 square miles 1 in the Georgia Coastal Plain. 

J No complete survey of the swamp land of Georgia has been made, and the figures 
are only a rough estimate based on a knowledge of the approximate widths of the 
swamp along the largest rivers and creeks. 



44 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


This land lies generally form two to eight feet above mean stages of 
water. 


THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP. 

The Okefenokee Swamp is perhaps the greatest natural wonder in 
the State. It lies in the southeastern part of the Coastal Plain, em¬ 
braces parts of Ware, Charlton, and Clinch counties, and extends to 
the Florida line. It has a length of about 40 miles, a width of 30 
miles, and an area of between 700 and 800 square miles. The 
swamp has been fully explored by hunters and lumbermen, but no 
very extended descriptions of it have been published. The following 
.excellent short description is that of Dr. P. H. Loughridge, 1 who was 
one of a party that made a partial survey of the swamp in 1875 : 

This swamp (Okefenokee) has a width of 30 and a length of 40 miles, 
covering an area of about 500,000 acres. It is in reality an upland swamp , 
having an altitude of 120 feet above tide-water on St. Mary’s River. A sand 
ridge (part of the water divide of the State) 30 feet above the swamp 
extends along its eastern border to the South, becoming lower as it reaches 
the southern horseshoe bend of St. Mary’s River. The swamp is highest on 
the northeast, and falls irregularly to the south and southwest from 126 
to 111 y 2 feet at Ellicott’s mound and on the southwestern corner. 

The eastern part, 12 miles in width, is an open “prairie” or marsh, largely 
covered with water, in which are long rushes and water-lillies. Under its sur¬ 
face is a dense body of moss from four to six feet thick, the great mass of 
which is decayed, forming muck and peat. It is so dense that it will readily 
bear up a man’s weight, merely sinking a little and rising for many feet 
around; hence the name of Okefenokee—“trembling earth.” Small islands, 
covered with clumps of cypress, bay, and cassino, frequently occur. The 
western part of the swamp is mostly covered by cypress trees and a dense 
growth similar to that of the small swamps outside, so tied together by bam¬ 
boo briers and vines as to be impenetrable except by slow and terious cutting 
. away with bush knives. Small open marshes, and also a number of large 
islands, are found throughout this region. These islands are quite level, but 
are slightly elevated above the swamp lands, and have a sandy soil, with an 
open timber growth of long-leaf pine and a very low undergrowth of saw- 
palmetto, and are similar in every respect to the mainland. Their dimen¬ 
sions are three or four miles by from one to two, and they are bordered by a 
low hammock land, on which there is a growth of magnolia, oak, etc. Hunt¬ 
ers find deer and bear on these islands. The soil or bottom of the swamp 
proper seems to be but little else than white sand. 

Dr. E. M. Harper 2 has lately published a description in which the 
literature and history of exploration is summarized, the geography, 
vegetation,-etc., of the swamp are briefly set forth, and illustrations 
from several photographs taken in the swamp are given. 

Such a phenomenon as the Okefenokee Swamp can not be passed 
over without offering some explanation of its existence. The follow¬ 
ing relating to its origin is quoted from Dr. Harper’s paper: 

Immediately east of the Okefinokee is one of the most interesting topo¬ 
graphic features of the region, which would scarcely be noticeable but for the 


dentil Census, Vol. VI, Cotton Production of Georgia, p. 51. 
2 Pop. Sci. Monthly, June, 1909. 




Thp man has been compiled from a map of Okefenokee Swamp, by M. T. Singleton; from the map of Georgia, by A. G. Butts, published 1890; from the soil map of the 
Waycross area, by the U. S. Bureau of Soils; and from notes by the author. The figures refer to elevations above sea-level. 

























































/\ v r —• 







qon f, uf'Wk # to q*«i i; moil Jbolfqwoo cmod p./ut (jKin adT 

<>n uto?; bttii .tdlofc to uiioijjtl >* ) art) <cf ,mi& aaoiox^ 


























PHYSIOGRAPHY 


45 * 


gen eral flatness of the country. It is a broad low ridge, exactly parallel with 
?. e pp c , oa h st and Just about forty miles distant from it. This ridge has been 

hpnH < if ) ^ tll a+ W ^V :er a few miles west of Jesup southward into the great 
bend of the St. Mary s River, and about thirty miles into Florida, where it is 

_ Trai ] Ridge,” and happens to coincide in part with the Atlantic 
and Gulf divide and with the eastern boundary of Baker and Bradford Coun¬ 
ties, though still maintaining its parellelism with the Atlantic coast. It is 
aa important divide in Georgia, though no streams intersect it between 
the St. Mary s and the Altamaha except the Satilla and Little Satilla Rivers. 

At Camp Cornelia, where the old drainage ditch of the Suwanee Canal 
Company cuts through it, this remarkable ridge is about two miles wide and 
on y about forty feet highland it probably keeps practically the same dimen¬ 
sion for many miles north and south. Its slopes are so gentle as to be 
scarcely noticeable to a person passing over it, but when viewed from a point 
a few miles away on one of the straight railroads which cross it, it stands 
out quite conspicuous. 


Trail Ridge, or Okefinokee Ridge, as the Georgia end of it might be 
called, does not belong to the class of cuestas or inland-facing escarpments 
which can be seen in many,places in the upper half of the coastal plain, for 
it slopes equally on both sides and has no stream hugging its inland edge 
as far as known. Moreover it is too smooth and too straight to have been 
formed by erosion. The same reasonable explanation of it would seem to be 
that it marks a comparatively recent slight flexure of the earth’s crust, 
formed during one of the oscillations which the coastal plain experienced sev¬ 
eral times during its making. There seems to be a similar though smaller 
ridge about fifteen miles east of it, but so little is known about that that it 
could not be mapped at the present time. Mount Pleasant and Waynesville, 
near the boundary between Wayne and Glynn counties, are located on the 
latter ridge and along its summit was one of the principal roads from Savan¬ 
nah to East Florida a century ago, followed by Bartram and other travelers. 

The internal structure of the Okefinokee Ridge is not its least interest¬ 
ing feature. In the big ditch at Camp Cornelia, as well as at the crossings 
of four railroads (three of them shown on the map and one a little farther 
north), there occurs beneath a few feet of white sand a chocolate-colored or 
almost black material of unknown depth known locally as “hardpan.” No 
analysis of the hardpan is available, but when pulverized in the fingers it 
feels like nothing but sand. Its dark color is doubtless due to vegetable 
matter, with a little cement of iron oxide or bog iron ore, which makes it so 
hard in the mass that dynamite was used in removing it, it is said. No 
recognizable organic remains were noticed in it, but a faint horizontal 
stratification could be detected. The aspect of the hardpan is so similar 
to that of the subsoil of existing salt marshes that its origin is not hard to 
guess. 

Although this peculiar formation may not be confined to the Okefinokee 
Ridge, its extent is evidently limited; for in railroad cuts around Waycross 
and Folkston and in Camden county and elsewhere the ordinary reddish 
Pliocene loam can be seen near the surface, without any signs of the black: 
hardpan. The hardpan was doubtless formed in some prehistoric swamp or 
marsh occupying a somewhat larger area than Okefinokee does now—perhaps 
the Suwanee Straight of geologists, which is supposed to have separated 
Florida from the mainland in Miocene times. It seems to have no effect on 
the vegetation above it, which is just like that of the ordinary flat pine- 
barrens underlaid by the loam. 

Assuming the foregoing theories to be true we can now trace the probable 
development of Okefinokee Swamp. When the ridge was thrown up across 
the shallow trough which had been Suwanee Strait it naturally created a 
basin behind it, which must have quickly filled with water, forming a large, 
shallow lake. This lake then began to fill with vegetation, as many other 


46 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


shallow lakes then began in temperate regions are doing, 
and gradually took on the aspect it has to-day, which will 
he described more in detail below, under the head of vege¬ 
tation. A glance at the map will show how the waters are 
darned up by the ridge, the straight eastern border con¬ 
trasting with the very irregular western border of the 
swamp. 

The notes of the writer on the geology of the re¬ 
gion and its physiographic history differ somewhat 
from the views advanced in the preceding quotation. 
It is believed that the swamp lies upon a terrace 
plain, of probable marine origin, parallel to a lower 
terrace plain, which lies from 15 to 40 feet above 
sea-level, and extends to the present coast. The 
western edge of the lower plain is marked by an es¬ 
carpment which is prominent at Waynesville, Mt. 
Pleasant, Walthourville, and a few miles east of 
Folkston, and probably represents the shore-line of 
the latest Pleistocene sea. The next higher plain, 
the Okefenokee Plain, extends parallel to the lower, 
and from the above mentioned escarpment extends 20 
to 40 miles westward. The western extent of the 
plain is not distinctly marked (although a good topo¬ 
graphic map would probably reveal it), but it is be¬ 
lieved that it is a line approximately from Clyo in 
Effingham County, southwestward to near Groveland, 
thence to Jesup, Offerman, and Way cross and thence 
follows the northern and western borders of Okefeno¬ 
kee Swamp. There is a low sand ridge on the east 
side of the swamp, which has acted, to some extent, as 
a dam to the drainage from the west. 

The swamp does not occupy a single large depres¬ 
sion or basin, since elevations show that the northern 
edge is 15 feet higher than the southeastern corner, 
and there are also differences of elevation of the sur¬ 
face within the swamp. The swamp conforms, in 
general to the southeastward tilt of the plain upon 
which it is located. The land now occupied by the 
swamp was so flat, that the rainfall was not readily 
removed and hence accumulated as broad sheets of 
water, which vegetation converted into swamps. The 
presence of islands in the swamp which are reported 
to be very similar in soil and tree growth to the dry 
land adjacent, together with the fact that creek run¬ 
ways still exist within the swamp, is very suggestive 
that the swamp area did not differ materially from 
the land to the north and west and that the Okefeno¬ 
kee was formed by the gradual accumulation of wa¬ 
ter and consequent aquatic vegetation. The “bays” 
or entrants of swamp into the dry land, along the 
courses of tributary creeks, have produced the ragged 



. 

£ 

* 


Spanish Creek, 
Little OkeCenoJcee 
— g Swamp 

-al eo ' 

"Ay Satilla 

escarpment 
Satilla River 


Satilla River 


m 

Cumberland 

Island 







PHYSIOGRAPHY 


47 


or irregular north and west boundaries and indicate the process by 
which the swamp has increased in area, namely by the enlargement 
and union of creek swamps and final obliteration of the stream chan¬ 
nels. Should there be a period of a number of years with the pre¬ 
cipitation even slightly above the present normal the whole area 
northwest of the swamp to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and be¬ 
yond would he incorporated as a part of the Okefenokee. This area 
is at present formed of flat, ill-drained islands surrounded by narrow 
strips of swamp. 

The swamp then owes its existence to the general flatness of the 
original land surface which has been lifted above sea level without 
deformation. The sand ridge on the east, although acting as a dam 
for a part of the drainage, was a subordinate agent .in producing the 
swamp, as is in a measure proved by the absence of any conspicuous 
ridge or barriers on the south and southeast, and especially by the dif¬ 
ferences in elevations of various parts of the surface of the swamp. 
As for example, the elevation at the point where Cypress Creek issues 
on the western side is 111% feet, while at a point half way between 
this and St. Marys River the elevation is 118% feet, and the point 
where the St. Marys issues on the southeastern comer is 111% feet. 
If the existence of the swamp depended entirely upon the barrier 
ridge on the east the level of the western margin of the swamp 
should be higher than the intermediate levels between the western 
and eastern margins. This is not true according to known elevations. 



Fig. 4.—Profile from Okefenokee Swamp to Kings Ferry, Florida, along line 
D—E, on map of Okefenokee Swamp. 

The geologic formations adjacent to the swamp are late Tertiary, 
Pleistocence, and Recent. The Alum Bluff formation (upper Oligo- 
cene) consisting of greenish, sandy clays, and overlain by a small 
thickness of Altamaha (Lafayette?) and surficial sand, occurs to the 
north and west, and very probably underlies the swamp. As inferred 
from the record of a well at Waycross, it is about 300 feet in depth 
to a limestone formation. 

The Altamaha (Lafayette T) formation is typically exposed in cuts 
and excavations near Waycross, and probably also occurs east of the 
swamp. This formation is composed of red, argillaceous sand and 
sandy clay. To the east of the swamp the plain is covered by gray 




48 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


and yellowish or brownish, incoherent quartz sand, varying from two 
or three to 15 or 20 feet in thickness. This sand foUms the sand ridge 
on the east side of the swamp. It is considered a Pleistocene deposit. 
Beneath the surficial sand there is a small thickness, not exceeding 40 
or 50 feet, of red, argillaceous sand and bluish clay, Pliocene or Pleis¬ 
tocene in age. Possiliferous beds of white, argillaceous limestone 
and greenish or drab laminated clay, probably Pliocene or Pleis¬ 
tocene, and older than the surficial sand, occur in the banks of St. 
Marys and Satilla rivers a few feet above sea level. 

So far as known, the deposits in the swamp are white sand and re¬ 
cent vegetable or semi-peaty accumulations. White or gray sand oc¬ 
curs on the edges of the swamp and only sand is exposed in the old 
drainage ditch constructed by the Suwanee Canal Company, near 
Trader’s Hill. Fishermen and hunters report white sand in the bot¬ 
toms of some of the lakes. Peaty accumulations three or four feet 
thick are reported, and these organic accumulations are known to have 
been fired from nearby forest fires during periods of drought. 

There is no evidence in the many exposures of strata examined in 
Charlton, Ware and Camden counties, that any considerable flexures 
or folds exist in this part of the State. The escarpment a few miles 
east of the sw T amp, which suggests the limb of an anticlinal fold, is 
believed to be a Pleistocene erosion feature, as stated above. 

TABLE OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS NEAR OKEFENOKEE SWAMP 
Recent: 

Peaty muck in the Okefenokee Swamp. 

Pleistocene and Pliocene (?) 

Satilla formation—clay terraces or flatwoods bordering St. Marys 
and Satilla rivers. 

Okefenokee formation—surficial white sand, and perhaps some 
red sand and mud, the latter occupying the sites of ancient 
estuaries or shallow bays. 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?)—red, argillaceous sand, typically devel¬ 
oped at Waycross. 

Charlton formation—fossiliferous limestone and clay on St. 

Marys River. 

Miocene. 

Probable occurrence at Owens Ferry, Satilla River. 

Miocene strata are also known 1 near Jacksonville, Fla. 

Oligocene (Alum Bluff). 

Sandy, greenish, and drab clays of the Alum Bluff formation, 
overlain by a small thickness of Aitamaha (Lafayette ?) and 
surficial sand, occur on the north and west sides of the swamp. 

There are numbers of smaller swampy areas in the Okefenokee 
Plain. Some of these are merely broad, undrained flats, due, per¬ 
haps, to original inequalities in the land surface and are Okefenokees 


1 Matson and Clapp. Fla. Geol. Survey, Second Annual Report, 1909, p. 108. 



PLATE III. 



A. 


SAND HILL ON EAST SIDE OF LITTLE OCMULGEE RIVER, TW O MILES 
NORTHEAST OF HELENA, TELFAIR COUNTY. 



B. A LIME SINK POND KNOWN AS WAVING POND. SEVEN MILES NORTHWEST 

OF SYLVESTER, WORTH COUNTY. 



































. 




- 



























































































































































































PHYSIOGRAPHY 


49 


on a small scale. The general slope of the plain eastward is perhaps 
not more than two feet per mile, and poor natural drainage is readily 
inferred. 


OTHER SWAMPS 

There are also swamp areas in the lower coastal terrace plain which 
lie 15 to 25 feet above sea level. These have the appearance of being 
the sites of ancient lagoons or shallow sounds. Buffalo Swamp in the 
western part of Glynn County is an example. This swamp extends 
from Altamaha River southward to Turtle River and has a much 
greater length than width. It contains clay and is slightly lower 
than the sandy pine and palmetto land on both sides. Oyster shells 
in the clay bear evidence of its marine origin. Cabbage palmetto 
trees occur near Bladen and Everett, and are possibly a survival from 
the period when this area was a sound or marsh. It is often entirely 
covered with water during the rainy seasons but becomes almost dry 
in times of drought. Should the present coast be elevated 20 or 30 
feet the waterways and marsh between St. Simon Island and the 
mainland would probably be the site of such a swamp area as Buffalo 
Swamp. 

The Big Pond, located seven miles north of Baxley, Appling 
County, is worthy of special mention here. Although this tract is 
locally termed “pond,” it is a misnomer, as it is more properly a 
swamp. The only open water is a small lake in the interior, reported 
to be not more than 100 yards long, whereas in the area as a whole 
there is a thick growth of cypress, gum, and pine, with an under¬ 
growth of small trees and bushes. (See plate IV, A.) Big Pond lies 
upon a flat, san^y, pine-covered plain, at an elevation about 200 feet 
above sea level. It has an area, including a small swamp, known as 
“Second Pond,” of about eight square miles. The two “ponds” are 
connected by a narrow swamp known as Tiger Bay. On the east 
side of the swamps there is a low ridge covered with superficial gray 
sand that reaches a thickness of about 10 feet. Ten-Mile Creek, a 
small tributary of Altamaha River, flows sluggishly from the southern 
end of Big Pond. 

Big Pond belongs to the upland, non-alluvial class of swamps, 
and is probably somewhat similar in origin to Okefenokee Swamp and 
to the smaller cypress and gum ponds which are so numerous in the 
southeastern part of the Coastal Plain. 

SPKINGS 

There are a few large springs of physiographic and geologic in¬ 
terest. These springs are in limestone areas and, as they appear to 


50 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


be connected with subterranean streams, many of them may be 
described as natural artesian wells. The water is clear and very 
transparent, usually has a deceptive, faint bluish color, is but little 
affected by rains, and evidently comes from great depths. The larg¬ 
est of these springs is Blue Spring, four miles south of Albany. The 
water at this place rises under considerable pressure through a roughly 
circular opening in limestone, and has an enormous flow. 
Similar springs are: Blue or Wade Spring, seven miles east of Quit- 
man ; McIntyre Spring on the Withlacoochee near the Florida line; 
Blue or Bussell Spring of Decatur County; Well, Wilkes, and Bock 
springs of Laurens County, and Magnolia Spring of Jenkins County. 
These are all large springs rising through limestone caverns. 

Small, both permanent and intermittent springs, of only minor 
importance, are numerous except along the coastal lowlands. 


ELEVATIONS 


BY OTTO VEATCH 


In the general absence of topographic maps, giving accurate ele¬ 
vations in the Coastal Plain, it is believed that the compilations here 
given will be of interest and of practical value in working out geologic 
problems and in the study of underground waters.. 

The following list of elevations has been compiled chiefly from.: 
Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States, by Henry Gannett, Bul¬ 
letin Ho. 274 of the U. S. Geological Survey; from the list of eleva¬ 
tions given in the report on the Water Powers of Georgia, Bulletin 
Ho. 3-A of the Geological Survey of Georgia; from the reports of the 
U. S. Army Engineers on the surveys of Ocmulgee, Oconee, Altamaha, 
and Savannah rivers; and from the Columbus, Talbotton, and Mil- 
ledgeville topographic sheets of the IT. S. Geological Survey. Several 
of the elevations given are merely rough estimates or guesses based 
on other elevations and upon knowledge of the topography by the 
author, in a few instances supported by aneroid barometer read¬ 
ings. In some of the figures given in this compilation there may 
be errors of even several feet, but, notwithstanding, these elevations 
are better than none at all, and the errors are not so great but that the 
data may be useful in the study of physiography, geology, and artesian 
waters. 


^Discharge measurements by B. M. and M. R. Hall (U. S. Geological Survey, Water 
Supply and Irrigation Paper, No. 197, page 236) varied from 26.4 second-feet to 135 
second-feet. This is approximately 18,000,000 to 87,000,000 gallons per 24 hours. 
This is the largest spring in the State. 



ELEVATIONS 


51 


The abbreviations used are: 

A. B. & A.—Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad. 
A. C. L.—Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. 

C. of Ga.—Central of Georgia Railway. 

Ga. R R.—Georgia Railroad. 

G. S. & E.—Georgia Southern & Florida Railway. 

L. & FT.—Louisville & Nashville Railroad. 

M. D. & S.—Macon, Dublin & Savannah Railroad. 

S. A. L.—Seaboard Air Line Railway. 

U. S. A. Eng.—United States Army Engineers. 

U. S. G. S.—United States Geological Survey. 


Abbeville. 

Abbeville, low water, R. R 

Achord . 

Acree, Dougherty County 

Adams Park. 

Adel. 

Adrian, Emanuel County 

Albany . 

Albany, Flint River level 

Allapaha. 

Alexanderville .... 

Allentown. 

Ambrose, Coffee County 

Americus. 

Andersonville. 

Arabi. 

Argyle. 

Armena . . .. 

Ashburn . . 

Augusta, Union Station 
Augusta, River gage . 

Baconton. 

Bainbridge. 

Bainbridge, river level 

Bartow. 

Bath, Richmond County 

Baxley. 

Belair. 

Berzelia. 

Blackshear . 

Bladen . 

Blakely. 

Blakely. 

Bloomingdale. 

Bonaire. 

Boston. 

Bostwick (Paschal) . . 
Boulogne, Florida . . . 

Box Springs. 

Braganza . 

Brentwood. 

Brewer (Tusculum P. O.) 
Brooklyn. 


.Rough estimate 

bridge . . U. S. A. Eng . 

. U. S. G. S . . . 
. A. C. L. R. R. . 
. U. S. G. S. . . 


G. S. & F. Ry. 
Rough estimate 
C. of Ga. Rwy 
A. C. L. R. R 
A. C. L. R. R . 


A. C. L. R. R 
M. D. & S. R. R 
A. B. & A. R. R. 

C. of Ga. Rwy 
C. of Ga. Rwy 
G. S. & F. Ry. 
A. C. L. R. R. 

S. A. L. Ry. . 

G. S. & F. Ry. 
City Engineer 
Weather Bureau 
A. C. L. R. R . 

A. C. L. R. R . 


Rough estimate 
C. of Ga. Rwy 
Rough estimate 
U. S. G. S. ! 
Ga. R. R. . . . 


Ga. R. R. . . 
A. C. L. R. R. 
S. A. L. Ry. . 


Rough estimate 
Weather Bureau 
C. of Ga. Rwy. 
G. S. & F. Ry. 
A. C. L. R. R. 
C. of Ga. Rwy. 
A. C. L. R. R. 
U. S. G. S. . 
A. C. L. R. R. 
U. S. G. S. . 
C. of Ga. Rwy. 
S. A. Li. Ry. . 


. 225 ? 

. 169.33 
. 274 
. 205 
. 259 
. 246 
. 290 ? 

. 184 
. 127 
. 293 
. 153 
. 411 ? 

. 395 
. 360 
. 394 
. 460 
. 161 
. 275 ? 

. 450 
. 143 
. 100 
. 160 
. 110 
. 80 
. 237 ? 

. 80 
. 206 
. 295 
. 488 
. 106 
. 22 
. 275 
. 300 
. 24 
. 354 
. 194 
. 669 
. 70 
. 364 
. 144 
. 167 
. 118 
. 691 


























































52 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Brinson.A. C. L. R. R.104 

Brunswick.Sou. Rwy. ^.13 

Brunswick (City Hall).U. S. G. S.11 

Buena Vista.Rough estimate .590 

Bullards.U. S. G. S.259 

Burroughs.A. C. L. R. R.19 

Bushnell . - . -.A. B. & A. R. R. 385 ? 

Butler.C. of Ga. Rwy.650 


Byromville. 

. . A. B. & A. R. R. ... 

.... 365 

? 

Byron. 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. 

.... 515 


Cairo... 


.... 237 


Camak. 


.... 578 


Cameron. 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.... 103 


Camilla. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 167 


Carrs Station. 

. . U. S. G. S. 

.... 500 


Cecil. 


.... 250 


Chauncey . 


.... 300 


Chula. 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 395 


Claxton . 


.... 194 

9 

Clifton . 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.... 22 


Climax. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 277 


Clyo. 

. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.... 74 


Cochran . 

. . U. S. G. S. 

.... 342 


Coleman . 


.... 391 


Coley. 

. . Sou. Rwy. 

.... 303 


Collins. 

. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.... 238 


Colon. 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 137 


Columbus, Union Station. 


.... 260 


Columbus, river level. 

. . U. S. G. S. 

.... 200 


Cordele. 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 336 


Crescent . 

. . Rough estimate . . . 

.... 18 


Culverton. 


.... 549 


Cusseta. 

. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.... 540 


Cuthbert. 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. 

.... 446 


Cutler. 

. .G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 78 


Cuyler . 

. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.... 37 

9 

Cycloneter. 

. .G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 410 


Dakota . 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 410 


Darien. 


.... 15 


Dasher. 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.... 185 


Davis. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 238 


Davisboro. 


.... 302 


Dawson. 


.... 352 


Dearing. 


.... 464 


Devereux . 

. . U. S. G. S. B. M. . . 

.... 577 


Dewitt . 


. ... 175 


Dixie ....'.. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 130 


Dock Junction. 

. . U. S. G. S. 

.... 25 


Doctortown. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 74 


Doctortown, low water level . . . 

. . U. S. A. Eng. 

.... 31. 

75 

Donaldsonville . 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 

.... 139 


Douglas. 

. . A. B. & A. R. R. ... 

.... 388 

? 

Doublerun. 


.... 363 

9 


Dover 
Dry Branch 
Dublin . . 


. C. of Ga. Rwy. . 
. M. D. & S. R. R. 


104 
368 ? 


M. D. & S. R. R.231 1 ? 


Elevations on the M. D. & S. R. R. are taken from the list given in Water-Powers 
of Georgia, Geol. Survey of Ga., Bull 3-A, pp. 98-100. Rough corrections were made 
according to the bench mark established on the Oconee River at Dublin bv U. S. Army 
Engineers. 



































































ELEVATIONS 


53 


Dublin, low water level . . . 

. . . . U. 

S. A. Eng. . . . 

.160 

6 

Dudley. 



.325 

? 

Dupont. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.180 


East Albany . 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.186 


Eastman. 





Eden .. 


of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.34 


Egypt. 


of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.132 


Eldorado . 



.340 


Elko. 



.443 


Ellabelle . 




? 

Ellaville. 


W. Spencer . . . 

.591 


Empire. 





Esquiline. 





Eufaula, Alabama. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.211 

? 

Everett City. 





Everett Station, Crawford County . . C. 
Everett Station, Flint River, railroad 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.362 


bridge. 

. . . .c. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.337 


Exeter . 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.94 


Exley. 

. . . . S. 

A. L. Ry. 

.63 


Faceville . 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.296 


Fargo. 

. . . .G. 

S. & F. Ry. ... 

.116 


Fitzgerald. 

... .A. 

B. & A. R. R. . . 

.388 

? 

Fitzpatrick. 

. . . . M. 

D. & S. R. R. . . 

.541 

9 

Fleming.'. . . 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. . . . 

.22 


Flint. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.168 


Folkston. 

. ... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.80 


Fort Gaines. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.163 


Fort Gaines, river level, low 

water . . 


.100 

9 

Fort Mudge. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.134 


Fort Valley. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.522 


Fowltown. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.289 


Gallemore (Willis P. 0.) . . 

. . . .M. 

D. & S. R. R. . . 

.394 

9 

Gardi. 

. . . . U. 

S. G. S. 

.62 


Geneva (station). 

. . . . U. 

S. G. S. 

.581 


Georgetown.C. 

Georgetown, low water, Chattahoochee 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.189 


River. 


.Ill 

? 

Glenmore. 

. . . . A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.151 


Godwinville. 

. . . . U. 

S. G. S. 

.312 


Gordon . 

. . . . c. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.348 


Gordon, Alabama. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.160 


Graham. 


.240 


Graves . 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.350 


Greens Cut . 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.284 


Griswold. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.447 


Grovania . 

. . . . G. 

S. & F. Ry. ... 

.444 


Groveland. 

. . . . S. 


.162 

? 

Grovetown. 

. . . . Ga 

. R. R. 

.495 


Guyton . 


of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.81 


Hagan . 

. . . . S. 

A. L. Ry. 

.186 

9 

Hahira. 

. . . . G. 

S. & F. Ry. ... 

.230 


Halcyondale. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.110 


Halloca. 

. . . . U. 

S. G. S . 

.323 


Hardaway. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.183 


Hardeeville, S. C. 

.... A. 

C. L. R. R. ... 

.21 


Harlem. 

. . . . Ga 


.548 


Hatcher. 

. . . . C. 

of Ga. Rwy. . . . 

.289 

9 


Hawkinsville.Weather Bureau.235 

































































54 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Hawkipsville, low water level . . . . U. S. A. Eng. 

Haylow.G. S. & F Ry.167 

Hazlehurst . U. S. G. S. 

Helena . U. S. G. S. 247 . 

Hephzibah.Weather Bureau.402 

Herndon.C. of Ga. Rwy.179 

A. C. L. R. R.176 

C. of Ga. Rwy. 666 ? 

G. S. & F. Ry.169 

Rough estimate. 460 ? 

.370 


Homerville 
Howard . 

Howell 

Irwinton ... 

Isabella (Sylvester).A. C. L. R. R. 

Jasper, Florida.A. C. L. R. R. 

Jeffersonville.M. D. & S. R. R 

Jennings, Florida.G. S. & F. Ry. . 

jesup.U. S. G. S. . . 

Johnsonville, Jeff Davis County . . . Sou. Rwy. . . 

Juniper Station.U. S. G. S. . . 

Kathleen.G. S. & F. Ry. 


Kingsland 
Kirkland 
Knoxville 
Lake Park 
Lawton . 
Leesburg 
Lenox . . 

Lewiston 
Lily . . . 
Longstreet 
Louisville 
Ludowici 
Lulaton . 
Lumber City 


152 

526 

150 

100 

240 

422 

330 

41 

200 


. 254 


.S. A. L. Ry. . 

.A. C. L. R. R. 

. . . . J. E. Thomas.640 

*.'*** .G. S. & F. Ry.160 

.C. of Ga. Rwy.225 

. . . . Rough estimate. 300 ? 

. . . . G. S. & F. Ry. . . ;.300 

.C. of Ga. Rwy.385 

.A. B. & A. R. R. 364 ? 

.. U. S. G. S.302 

.Weather Bureau.259 

.A. C. L. R. R.71 

.Rough estimate.50 

___ .!!!!!• .U. S. G. S.146 

Lumber City, river level, low water . U. S. A. Eng. 

Lumpkin (station).Rough estimate.500 

Lumpkin .Weather Bureau.650 

Lyons.S. A. L. Ry. 

McBean Station. 

McClenny, Florida. 

McDonald. 

McGriff. 

McIntosh. 

McRae. 

McIntyre.. 

Macon, Union Station. 

Macon, near Sou. Rwy. Station . 

Macon, low water level .... 

Macon Junction. 

Manassas. 

Marshallville . 

Marlow.C 

Mayday. J . . . G. S._& F 

Mayfield. 

Meigs. 

Meinhard. 

Meldrim.C. of Ga. Rwy 

Melrose.G. S. & F. Ry. 

Metcalf.A. C. L. R. R. 

Midville.C. of Ga. Rwy 

Milledgeville.Ga. R. R. . 


. c. 

of 

Ga. 

Rwy. . 

.134 

. s. 

A. 

L. 

Ry. . . 

.125 

. A. 

C. 

L. 

R. R. . 

.167 

.u. 

S. 

G. 

S. . . . 

.259 

. A. 

c. 

L. 

R. R. . 

.22 





.230 

. C. 

of 

Ga 

. ,Rwy. . 

.261 

. G. 

S. 

& F. Ry. . 

.334 

. U. 

S. 

G. 

S. . . . 

.311 

. U. 

s. 

A. Eng. . . 

.279 

. C. 

of 

Ga. 

Rwy. . 

.350 

. s. 

A. 

L. 

Ry. . . 

.217 


of 

Ga. 

Rwy. . 

.500 

. c. 

of 

Ga. 

Rwy. . 

.72 

. G. 

S. 

& F. Ry. . 

.140 



.417 





.341 

. s. 

A. 

L. 

Ry. . . 

.19 


. 28 

. 154 
. 170 
. 186 
. 276 









































































ELEVATIONS 


55 


Milledgeville, low water level . . . . U. S. A. Eng.241.29 

Millen.C. of Ga. Rwy.156 

Millwood.A. C. L. R. R.160 

Mineola.G. S. & F. Ry.220 

Moniac.G. S. & F. Ry.114 

Monteith . . ..A. C. L. R. R.16 

Montezuma . ..C. of Ga. Rwy.300 

Montrose.M. D. & S. R. R.391 

Morgan ,.Weather Bureau.337 

Morris.C. of Ga. Rwy.242 

Mount Pleasant.Sou. Rwy. 59 

Munnerlyn . . ..C. of Ga. Rwy. 264 ? 

Muscogee...U. S. G. S.245 

Myers, Effingham County.S. A. L. Ry.45 

Naylor ..A. C. L. R. R.192 

Nicholls.A. B. & A. R. R. 306 ? 

Norwood . .•.Ga. R. R.*.588 

Ochillee.U. S. G. S.273 

Ocklockonee.A. C. L. R. R.263 

Ochwalkee, low water Oconee R. . . . U. S. A. Eng.114.4 


Oconee . , 

. . . . C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . 223 

Odum.\ . . . 

. . . .U. 

S. 

G. S. 

. . 155 

Offerman. 

.... A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

. . 106 

Ogeechee . 

. . . . C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . Ill 

Oglethorpe. 

. . . .C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . 299 

Ohoopee . 

. . . . S. 

A. 

L. Ry. 

. . 187 

Oliver. 

. . . .C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . 140 

Omaha (station). 


. . 240 

Ousley. 

... .A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

. . 148 

Paramore Hill.. 

. . . . C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . 235 

Parrott. 

. . . . S. 

A. 

L. Ry. 

. . 482 

Paschal . 

. . . .C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . 669 

Patterson. 

.... A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

. . 104 

Pearson . 

.... A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

, . . 205 

Pembroke. 

. . . .S. 

A. 

L. Ry. 

, . . 101 

Pendarvis. 

. . . . u. 

S. 

G. S. 

. . . 85 

Pennick. 



G. S. 

. . . 18 

Pikes Peak (station) .... 

. . . .M. 

D. 

& S. R. R. 

, . . 534 

Pinegrove . 


S. 

G. S . 

. . . 229 

Pinehurst. 

. . . .G. 

S. 

& F. Ry. 

. . . 390 

Pineora . 

. . . . C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . . 78 

Piscola, Brooks County . . . 

. . . . Weather Bureau . . . . 

. . .190 

Pooler. 

. . . . C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . . 23 

Poulan . 

.A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

. . . 345 

Powersville . 

. . . .C. 

of 

Ga. Rwy. 

. . . 385. 

Quitman . 


.C. 

L. R. R. 

. . . 173 

Racepond . 

.... A. 

C. 

L. R. R. 

. . . 143 



.... 373 

? 


.189 


. . Rough estimate . . . . 

.225 


. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.601 

? 


.433 


. . Rough estimate . . . . 

.15 


. . S. A. L. Ry. 

.600 


. . G. S. & F. Ry. 

.358 



Register . 

Renfroes . .. 

Reynolds . 

Riceboro . 

Richland. 

Richwood. 

Rincon...S. A. L. Ry.75. 

River Junction, Florida.L. & N. R. R.84 

Roberta.'. . . .Rough estimate.620 

Roberts Station.Ga. R. R.557 

































































56 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Rockyford . 

Rogers . . .. 

Saffold. 

Saffold, level of Chatt. R . . . 

St. George. 

St. Mary's. 

Sandersville. 

Satilla. 

Satilla, river level. 

Savannah . 

Scarboro . 

Schlatterville. 

Scotland. 

Screven . 

Shell Bluff Landing, Burke Co. 
Shell Bluff Landing, Burke Co. 

Shellman.* . . 

Sibley. 

Smithville ... 

Sofkee . 

Soperton. 

Sparks . 

Sparta. 

Springfield.. 

Statesboro . 

Sterling.. 

Stillmore (highest land) . . . 

Stillwell, Effingham Co. 

Stockton . 

Sulphur Springs . .. 

Sumner. 

Sunhill . 

Surrency . 

Swift Creek. 

Sycamore. 

Sylvania.■. 

Sylvester . 

Talbotton. 

Tarrytown . 

Tennille. 

Thalman . 

Thelma. 

Thomas. 

Thomasville. 

Thomson... 

Tifton. 

Tivola. 

Toomsboro. 

Towns.. 

Tyty . 

TJnadilla. 

TJpatoi. 

Uptonville. 

Valambrosa. 

Valdosta . 

Valona, McIntosh County . . . 

Vidalia . 

Vienna. 

Wadley. 


. . .C. of Ga. Rwy.130 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. 159 

. . A. C. L. R. R.105 

. . Rough estimate .65 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. ... 78 

. . Rough estimate ..12 

. .Rough estimate.470 

• » A. C. L. R. R.96 

. . .A. C. L. R. R.71 

. . A. C. L. R. R. . . ... . 21 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy.147 

. . A. C. L. R. R.133 

. . U. S.,G. S.142 

. . A. C. L. R. R.124 


U. S. A. Eng. (low water) . . 87 
U. S. A. Eng. (highest point) . 237 


. . C. of Ga. Rwy. 379 ? 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. ..440 

. .C. of Ga. Rwy.332 

. . G. S. & F. Ry.370 

. . Rough estimate.290 

. . G. S. & F. Ry.241 

. . Ga. R. R. 557 

. . Rough estimate.100 

. . Rough estimate 175 to 200 

. .U. S. G. S.. . 21 

. . Rough estimate.300 

. . S. A. L. Ry.69 

. . A. C. L. R. R.187 

. . U. S. G. S.300 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 373 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy.362 

. . U. S. G. S.187 

. . M. D. & S. R. R.• . . 324 ? 

. . G. S. & F. Ry.4i5 

. .Rough estimate.200 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 370 ? 

• .U. S. G. S.726 

. . Rough estimate. 290 ? 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy.469 

. . Rough estimate . ..20 

. . G. S. & F. Ry. 158 

. . C. of Ga. Rwy. ..285 

. . A. C. L. Rwy. . '.250 

. .Ga. R. R.503 

. .A. C. L. R. R. 370 

. • G. S. & F. Ry. 300 

. -C. of Ga. Rwy. 227 

• • U. S. G. S.128 

. . A. C. L. R. R. 332 

. . G. S. & F. Ry.*. . . . 412 

. . U. S. G. S. 418 

• . A. C. L. R. R. 83 

. . M. D. & S. R. R.258 ? 

• - A. C. L. R. R.215 

• • Weather Bureau.io 


S. A. L. Ry.. 257 * 

G. S. & F. Ry.350 

C. of Ga. Rwy.234 













































































GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE IV. 



A. INTERIOR OF BIG POND. SEVEN MILES NORTH OF BAXLEY, 

APPLING COUNTY. 



B A LIME SINK POND IN THE CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION, ON THE 
PROPERTY OF MRS. MITCHELL. SIX MILES WEST 
OF BOSTON. THOMAS COUNTY. 



















































ELEVATIONS 


57 


Wainwright (Uptonville Station) 

. . A. C. L. R. R. . . 

• • • • 

. . 83 

Walden. 



. . 390 

Walthourville. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. . . . 


. . 95 

Waresboro . 

... A. C. L. R. R. . . . 


. . 121 

Warrenton. 




Waverly. 

. .IS. A. L. Ry. 

.... 

. . 17 

Waycross. 



. . 140 

Waynesboro. 



. . 286 

Waynesville. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. . . . 

• • • • 

. . 55 

Ways. 

. A. C. L. R. R. . . . 

• • • • 

. 18 

Wellston. 



. . 315 

Wenona. 



. . 348 

Westlake. 

. . U. S. G. S. 


. . 235 

Wheaton, Appling County . . . . 

. . U. S. G. S. 

• • • • 

. . 201 

Whigham. 




Whiteoak. 




Willis (Gallemore) . 

. . M. D. & S. R. R. . 


. . 394 ? 

Weston . 




Wilcox. 



. . 116 

Willacoochee. 

. . A. C. L. R. R. . . . 


. . 247 

Willingham. 




Winchester . 



. . 463 

Woodbine. 

. .S. A. L. Ry. . . . 


. . 20 

Worth. 


.... 

. . 415 

Wray. 



. . 392 ? 




























58 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL 

PLAIN 

BY OTTO VT:ATCH 

Georgia may be divided into three major geologic provinces: (1) 
the Paleozoic area; (2) the Crystalline area; (3) the Coastal Plain. 
The Coastal Plain is the largest division of the three, covering approx¬ 
imately 35,000 square miles, considered purely as a geologic division. 
The general physiography, location, boundaries,, topography, etc., of 
the different areas have been presented in the preceding chapter. 

The Paleozoic region is an area of limestone, shales, and sandstones 
which has been subjected to great dynamic movements and tne sedi¬ 
ments are highly folded and faulted. The strata range in age from 
lower Cambrian to the Coal Measures. The Crystalline area, includ¬ 
ing the Piedmont Plain and the Blue Ridge, is composed of rocks of 
igneous or metamorphic origin, including granites, gneisses, schists, 
basic eruptives, and highly metamorphosed shale, sandstone, and 
limestone. These constitute the oldest rocks of the State, and are 
nrobably in the main of pre-Cambrian age. They have been subjected 
u c great orogenic movements, have been folded, faulted, and other¬ 
wise profoundly altered. Contrasted with the rocks of the Crystalline 
area those of the Coastal Plain are sands, clays, and marl, with a 
lesser amount of limestone and sandstone; they are to a large degree 
unconsolidated and have been altered but little, comparatively, from 
their original condition, with an entire absence of pronounced folding 
and faulting. The Coastal Plain sediments constitute the youngest 
series of beds in the State; they range in age from Cretaceous to 
Pleistocene and lie upon the upturned, planated beds of the ancient 
crystalline complex. They are mainly marine deposits, the com¬ 
ponent materials of which were derived from the crystalline complex 
to the north, their bulk representing the erosion of a vertical thickness 
of two thousand feet or more of beds from the Crystalline area of the 
State. The contact between these two major divisions, the Coastal 
Plain and the Crystalline area, is known as the Fall Line. 

Divisions of Coastal Plain Strata .—'The Coastal Plain deposits un¬ 
derlie an immense area and aggregate a maximum thickness of 4,500 
to 5,000 feet of‘sediments which have resulted from separate deposi- 


H3‘ 


LEGEND 


Qos 


Okefenokee and Satilla 
formations 

Marine, and fluviatile sands, prar¬ 
ch, and clay* of terrace origin. 


> 

X 

< 

z 

X 

?U1 

H 

< 

D 

O 



Altamaha (Lafayette?) 
formation 

Irregularly bedded sand*, clays, 
and gravels, locally indurated. 



Charlton formation 

Clays and argillaceous limestone. 


£ 

« J 

c. 

<s> 





Marks Head marl 
and Duplin marl 
Gray or broicnish sands, more or 
less argillaceous, calcareous, and 
phosphatic clays and shell marls. 

(UNCONFORMITY) 



Alum Bluff 
formation 

Greenish sands and clays, locally 
indurated ; subordinate beds of 
fullers earth, phosphatic sands, 
limestones, ana marls. 



Chattahoochee 

formation 

Impure to pure limestones and 


(UNOONFORMITY ?) 



I Vksburg formation 
I WhiU'imestones, sands, clays 
and ridual sands and clays 
I with fiinand chert masses. 



Jackson formation 
Massive limestones, marls, and 
calcareous, glauconitic clays. 



Claiborne group 
fo 


in¬ 
cluding McRean forma¬ 
tion and Barnwell sand 
Shell marls, tandy limestones, 
clays in the nature of fullers earth, 
calcareous and glauconitic sands, 
and red and vuri-colored sands. 


(UNCONFORMITY?) 





Wilcox formation 
Sands, clays, and shell marls. 

(UNCONFORMITY) 



Midway formation 
J Sands, clays, marls, and lime- 

D Clones. 


£ 

< 

X 

ID 


! 


UNCONFORMITY 


Kr 


Ripley formation 

a. —Providence sand member 

b. —Cusseta sand member 

Sands, clays, end murls. 


Kc 




Eutaw formation 
r^-Tombigbee sand member 
Sands, clays, and marls. 

(UNCONFORMITY) 




cn 

D 

0 

ID 

VU 

H 

ID 

X 

o 


Arkoslc sands, sandy 
clays, and pure white 
clays 



Hefeland / 


ITONS 


C 3A 

O fluvcsvirir 


OHEKNYlUj; 


Unutnaiuta 


WOdwood 


i _Hiv\'at>see j ; 
BUlirsvnie / T < * W X S/ . 

. ION V j 

o foosasrrcA 


°lvyLoi)\ 


’.*taiis ' 

I ffinggolib 

r'^ATorc 

'(^hiekamauf/H 


J/JUriOtn/alc^ 
vd/drnrUs.Sta ■ 


Madofao 

A 

ffiydan.s'Store 


jj; YFewEnglm 


1 ~YUi-nenyifl< 


CrRwvh’.r 


Bh a; Ridge 

\ 


myh/Hum 
/ RockSpnh 
d.tsa/ufeu 
^Kavdngtotf- 
XS/UIH / 


Varing 


' Toner {[ 


WatttaUa 


■oForiMt 


—/ mbimni 

/otxmfor/.s'i'rx 


FJiw/t 


d'/iiTUlepaiA 

i lIcb h 

ilav«/ °Tivniptotm 
. / Ralston o 


E R_/_ 

i<ifin-ette 

Vrll.trntn, 


l nH „sObestoso'. HABERSHAM/" 

,er - f 'S"*■”> WHITE °lbU 'filStoMih,. 

KIN V ^Cleveland if AyanJak 

[ fffVentOJVSty-ft^rf 

pmK r 

U x- -m / 


WMlWq 


UtydaU 


Uarrixhi 
TMoga 

ychrlsed fTfion. * ‘ 

</1l A TjO O (r A i 
j Hen to y SuimneiviMef 

f // cl, ' 

x / r u** tSpn? / 

I fffoceootvMaJs 


Utesara Juthrtrrm 


.. 

, Furr/fl 


dfelton. 


f ln//t> dM. 


iderson 


Calhoun. 


.udvrjlt i 

o cM'Mll, 

P 10 

, SatHuiHi - 
irlajg \lValtsk 4 L 

J \ TTy 5 ^, - 

‘ t VH EMpk, 

resHUlo^HC Wt/Htrutfott 

^ < Tcaxrton s' > 


N S.j DAWSpX"< 


I ^v-. 
Ito onia* 


Thebhules 

OMurrarriUr ffuff 
ft), ir ’t/nfi y\ 

H A r/L u 

ypwlfoHatul a ' ’ ^ ' l 

C*~‘ >9* »*\ 1 ru* «Vil k‘ 


Fairu »unt> 


F’urrtuUic, 


nptuth 


liUyfjeutd 


t'HAXK 

i t 

*- - 0 C rne svill,, e 


flIL.fl 


)pA/hi/rs\itte 


Jlmnm-o 


'rf t \SUn¥rodd i? \ 

\rLia r t o ] 

[ tcrmnrt Starnr/-rr./, c 
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GEOLOGIC MAP 

OF THE 

COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 

PREPARED BY 

THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA 

S. W. McCALLIE, STATE GEOLOGIST 
IN COOPERATION WITH 

THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 

Geology by Otto Veatch, Assistant State Geologist, and 
L. W. Stephenson, Assistant Geologist. U. S. G. S., under 
the direction of T. Wayland Vaughan, Geologist in charge 
of Coastal Plain Investigations. 


Scale 1 , 000 , 06 b 

IO 20 30 


IO O 10 

I H H~HH> 


40 Miles 

20 30 TO 50 Kilometers 


1911 


Mm 


^ Bristol 
























































































































































































































































































































































GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE GEOLOGY 


59 


tionSj and which correspondingly vary lithologically and faunally. 
Since to present a clear description en bloc of these sediments would 
manifestly be impossible subdivisions are necessary. While the struc¬ 
ture of the Coastal Plain sediments is, simple in comparison with that 
of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Appalachian Valley rocks, this 
province, nevertheless, presents its peculiar difficulties and the classifi¬ 
cations which have been arrived at in the different States represent 
laborious investigations covering many years. A table of the subdi¬ 
visions made in Georgia is given on pages 60-61. 

The great geologic periods, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary, 
are based upon the life forms preserved in the rocks and great physical 
or climatic changes on the earth. The broader divisions, as Lower 
Cretaceous, Upper Cretaceous, Eocene, Oligocene, etc., based mainly 
upon life forms preserved in the rocks, are time divisions, and are also 
of wide application. The further subdivisions are provincial and 
still further minor subdivisions are local and are based upon fossils, 
peculiar lithologic character and stratigraphic continuity, and surface 
configuration or physiography, or a combination of all of these. To 
attempt to make mappable minor divisions of the strata entirely upon 
the basis of fossils or upon the basis of lithology alone, in either case 
leads to confusion. The study of fossils is carried on because of 
their value in correlating deposits of widely separated localities, the 
identity of which it is not possible to prove by stratigraphic contin¬ 
uity, or the actual tracing of a bed or formation. 

Most of the formation and group names employed have been ab¬ 
stracted from literature on other States, and these names are here em¬ 
ployed, as the formations of adjoining States are continuous with 
those of Georgia. Certain sections in Mississippi, Alabama, and 
Florida have been taken as standards for comparison for the Georgia 
formations for the reasons that stratigraphic studies were first prose¬ 
cuted those localities. 

Thickness .—The general lithologic character and thickness of the 
divisions are given in the accompanying table, and will be considered 
in detail in the following chapters, together with a discussion of their 
structure, fossils, etc. The aggregate thickness of the deposits, as 
has been mentioned, is 4,500 to 5,000 feet. Of this thickness, the Ore' 
taceous forms 2,000 to 2,500 feet, the combined thickness of the Ter¬ 
tiary is approximately that of the Cretaceous, while the Pleistocene 
and Recent are but little more than 100 feet. Precise measurements 
of thickness can not be given, the principal reasons for which are: in¬ 
constancy in the strata, both along the strike and dip, the merging of 
strata faunally and lithologically, and paucity of fossil remains and 
of natural exposures. 


60 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


TABLE OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS 


SYSTEM 

SERIES 

GROUP 

FORMATION 

MEMBER 

THU 

NE£ 

FEE 

Quaternary 

Recent 





Pleistocene 

Columbia 

Satilla formation 


10-50 

Okefenokee forma¬ 
tion 


5-40 

Tertiary 

Pliocene 


Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette?) formation 

♦ 

150 ? 
(ma: 

Charlton formation 


Undet 

min 

Miocene 


Duplin marl 


10-15 

Marks Head marl 


45 

Oligocene 

Appalachicola 

Alum Blulf forma¬ 
tion 


150 (a 
age) 

Chattahoochee for¬ 
mation 


150 


Vicksburg forma¬ 
tion 


300 

Eocene 


Jackson formation 


150 

Claiborne 

Barnwell sand 


100 

McBean formation 

Marls, Sand&c. 

1C0-40 

(ma 

Congaree clay 
member 


Wilcox formation 


150 (n 

Midway formation 


400 

Cretaceous 

Upper 


Ripley formation 

Providence 
sand member 

950 

(apil 

Cusseta sand 
member 

Marine beds 

' 

Eutaw formation 

Tombigbee 
sand member 

560 

Beds below Tombig¬ 
bee sand member 

Lower 


Not differentiated 


350-60' 


1. Precise measurements cannot be given; the reader is referred to the text for a discussion of the thick: 











































TABLE OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATION 


61 


THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 


CHARACTER 

Flood plain deposits, alluvial sand, marsh mud, swamp deposits, and beach 
sand. 

Near the coast, mud and sand containing marine shells. Fluviatile phase, 
coarse sand, gravel an d clay.* 

Coastal terrace phase, gray sand of perhaps beach origin, and argillaceous 
sand and small amount of gravel. Fluviatile phase, coa rse sand and gravel. 

Widely distributed; chiefly sand, clay and gravel; beds of coarse sandstone; 
or grit, and local beds of greenish and drab clay and clay-stone; devoid 
of fossils. 

Soft, white argillaceous limestone, and laminated, fossiliferous, greenish 
clay; the deposits a re exposed only in the bluffs of St. Marys River. 

Sandy shell marl, slightly phosphatic. 

Very sandy greenish or drab clay, fine, gray or brownish phosphatic sand and 
sandy laminated clays with calcareous nodules. 

Marine deposits containing fossils, greenish or gray argillaceous sand and 
sand y laminated clays form the greater portion of the formation. 

Gray and drab, compact fossiliferous limestone. Siliceous replacements at 
the base of the formation contain a rich coral fauna. 

Mainly heavy bedded, soft, white fossiliferous limestone. The limestone is 
extensively silicified, and the formation is represented at the surface by 
red residual sand containing flint fragments. The formation also contains 
sand and clay beds. 

Soft, heavy bedded, fossiliferous limestone and calcareous and glauconitic 
sandy clay. 

Mainly red and vari-colored fossiliferous, marine sand; thin beds of silicified 

limestone or chert and sandstone and quartzite. 

Variable in its lithologic character; mainly an argillaceous and sandy, fos¬ 
siliferous marl, and drab, sandy clays and fuller’s earth. 

Dark colored, lignitic and glauconitic clay in the nature of fullers earth, 
and vari-colored, unconsolidated sand and clay. 

Ferruginous sand and local beds of white clay, together with fossiliferous 
limestone, marl, clay and calcareous quartzite. 

Gray, calcareous, micaceous sand; dark gray to black, sandy clay and shell 
marl with, at intervals, nodular layers of gray, calcareous sand or impure 
sandy limestone of marine origin; fine to coarse, crossbedded sand with 
subordinate lenses of light colored clay or dark, lignitic clay of shallow 
water origin. 


Calcareous sand, sandy limestone, and more or less sandy clay of marine 
origin; crossbedded sands and clays of shallow marine or estuarine origin; 
at base of formation, arkosic, micaceous sand and dark gray to black clay 
containing lignite. 


Coarse grained, crossbedded, arkosic sand with subordinate lenses of light- 
colored to pure white clays, approaching kaolin in composition; contains no 
marine fossils and is of shallow water, and presumably of fresh water, 

origin. 


the various formations and members. 






































62 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Structure .—The Coastal Plain strata have a general southward and 
coastward dip with the line of outcrops of the older formations run¬ 
ning northeast-southwest. Conclusive proof of, the foregoing state¬ 
ments is afforded by structural data obtained from natural exposures 
and deep wells, together with physiographic relations. The general 
surface slope, independent of the dip of the geological formations, 
from the Fall Line to sea level is about three feet per mile. The slope 
of the crystalline floor at the Fall Line is 50-75 feet per mile, but 
whether this slope is constant as far as the present coast can only be a 
matter of speculation, since the full thickness of the sediment’s in the 
lower part of the Coastal Plain has never been penetrated by boring. 
The oldest formations form the surface rock northward and disappear 
southward by reason of their dip, or in other words, in traversing the 
Coastal Plain from the Fall Line to the Atlantic Ocean and to the 
Gulf one descends from the oldest to the youngest or latest deposits. 
The dip of the Cretaceous beds is probably as much as 40 feet per 
mile; the lower Eocene beds have a dip of probably 20 to 30 feet; and 
the succeeding formations up to the Alum Bluff have a slope south¬ 
ward of not more than 8 to 15 feet per mile. The Alum Bluff forma- 
lion has a very low southeastward and southward dip but the beds are, 
probably nearly horizontal near the Florida line. The Miocene beds 
as far as known are likewise almost horizontal. The Altamaha (La¬ 
fayette?) and Pleistocene deposits form a mantle over the older for¬ 
mations and conform to the general tilting of the plain. 

The constancy of the dip of the older formations, and the con¬ 
stancy of lithologic phases, are matters of considerable economic inter¬ 
est, and it is regretted that more accurate information can not he 
given at present. The attainment of this information can be effected 
only by the further patient study of surface exposures and collection 
of accurate well data. 

The Coastal Plain strata present no pronounced structural disturb¬ 
ances. Some local disturbances of beds of the Cretaceous and 
Eocene have been noted along the Chattahoochee Biver, and displace¬ 
ments of beds at other localities have also been observed. None of the 
observed local displacements are believed to he of magnitude and are 
probably unimportant incidents in the simple oscillations which the 
Coastal Plain has undergone. 

Broad geologic structural features which can not be proven by re¬ 
cording strike and dip of the rock outcrops, since the dips are in gen- 


GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE GEOLOGY 


63 


€ral so low that the strata appear horizontal, are suggested by pecul¬ 
iarities of the drainage. The evidence afforded by stream direction, 
together with geologic facts and elevations, makes the existence of 
certain structural features more than hypothetical. 



Fig. 5.—Sketch map of the Coastal Plain of Georgia, showing relation of 
drainage to geologic structure. 


The nature of the drainage, together with certain geologic facts, 
suggests that the Chattahoochee River occupies the crest of a south¬ 
ward pitching anticline. (See Fig. 5.) The course of the Chatta¬ 
hoochee is almost directly southward in contrast to the southeastward 
Courses of the other major streams—the Altamaha, Ocmulgee, Oco¬ 
nee, Ogeechee, and Savannah. Flint River has a southward course 
more or less parallel to the Chattahoochee and is apparently lo¬ 
cated in a broad syncline complementary to the Chattahoochee anti¬ 
cline. A glance at the map reveals a striking inequality in the drain¬ 
age divides of the two rivers. The tributaries of the Flint are much 
longer, notwithstanding that the Chattahoochee is much the larger 
stream. The interpretation of this is that the Flint River tributaries 






























64 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


have been accentuated by the slope of the eastern limb of an'anticline r 
whereas the Chattahoochee tributaries have developed under the ad¬ 
verse conditions present on the crest of an anticline. That there have^ 
been greater upward earth movements along the Chattahoochee than 
along the other rivers, is indicated by the much greater depth of the 
Chattahoochee valley, and the deep trench like channels which the 
main river and its tributaries have cut in the latest Pleistocene plain. 
The depth to which the river has cut into this late plain is 40 to 60 
feet, while other large rivers have cut into it not more than 15 to 40 
feet. The river is probably at present engaged in downward cutting 
since little or no flood-plain is developed along its course. 

Geologic evidence of an anticline is afforded by the greater erosion 
and consequent exposure of the geologic formations along the Chat¬ 
tahoochee. The river has been able to cut into the older formations, 
revealing them with greater perfection than along any other Coastal 
Plain stream, probably by reason of the upward earth movements 
which have accelerated downward cutting. Por example, the inter¬ 
cept of the Chattahoochee water level with the Vicksburg formation 
is about 50 miles farther south than the intercept on the Flint. The 
Vicksburg, however, closely parallels the river as far north as Port 
Gaines, suggesting that a great width has been completely removed 
by erosion. Fort Gaines would probably have been near the inter¬ 
cept had the same strike of the formations prevailed in Georgia as 
in Alabama, and there had been no greater uplift along the Chatta¬ 
hoochee than along the Flint. Local disturbances of strata have- 
been observed along the Chattahoochee, more so than in other parts 
of the Coastal Plain, and this may be considered evidence of a gen¬ 
eral, greater earth movement in this region. 

The following elevations above sea level of the higher land bor¬ 
dering the Chattahoochee and the Flint are significant: 

Comparative elevations along Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. 


Chattahoochee Flint 



Feet. 


Feet. 

Cusseta. 

.540 

Andersonville . . . 

. 394 

Brooklyn .... 

.691 

Americus . 

.36.0 

Richland .... 

.600 

Smithville. 

.332 

Cuthbert .... 

.446 

Albany . 

. 230* 

Blakely . 

to 

3 

o 




leather Bureau. 


There is also physiographic and geologic evidence of a low fold 
or arch in the Oligocene strata, in the area drained by Ocklockonee, 
Withlacoochee, and Allapaha rivers, and extending along the Florida 












GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE GEOLOGY 


65 


line from Decatur to Echols counties and northward to Crisp and 
Wilcox counties (see fig. 5). The rivers mentioned flow south, 
whereas, normally, they would be expected to flow southeastward. 
The inequalities in the drainage divides of these streams and the Oc- 
mulgee and Flint are significant of an original southward slope which 
determined the drainage direction. The absence of tributaries on 
the east side of the Allapaha and the direct southeast courses of the 
Satilla and its tributaries and the small streams entering Okefe- 
nokee Swamp, in contrast to the almost due south course of the Alla¬ 
paha, suggest that a deformation of the strata must have taken place 
to produce these abnormal drainage features. 

The elevations also suggest an anticline since, had the usual 
southeast slope prevailed, the elevations on the east side of the Flint 
would be less than those on the west side. 

Comparative elevations on west and east sides of Flint River. 

West Side East Side 



Feet. 


Feet. 

Americus. 

.... 360 

Ashburn .... 

.450 

Smithville.• 

.... 332 

Sylvester .... 

.370 

Leesburg. 

. . . . 300 (?) 

Tifton. 

.370 

Dawson. 

.... 326 

Pelham ..... 

. 355 

Armena. 

. . . . 275 (?) 

Climax . 

.285 

Blakely. 

.... 300 

Valdosta. 

.215 

Donaldsonville .... 

.... 139 




The limestone of the Chattahoochee formation appears in surface 
exposures in Lowndes, Brooks, Thomas, and Grady counties. This 
may be considered good evidence of an uplift, since, had the usual 
southeastward dip of the strata prevailed, the Chattahoochee forma¬ 
tion would have been buried by later formations, as is the case in the 
eastern part of the Coastal Plain. 

This broad arch or fold was formed some time subsequent to the 
deposition of the Alum Bluff formation, and may have been in¬ 
volved in the orogenic movement which produced the Chattahoochee 
anticline. 

The southeastward courses of the Satilla, Altamaha, Ocmulgee, 
Oconee, Ohoopee, Ogeechee, Savannah, and other streams, suggest 
that the eastern half of the Georgia Coastal Plain is a monocline 
having a general southeastward pitch. The dip and strike of the 
geologic formations afford conclusive proof of the existence of this 
monocline. 















66 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


CRETACEOUS 

BY LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 

The Cretaceous deposits of Georgia form part of a connected series 
of formations outcropping from central Georgia through Alabama, 
Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the extreme southern part of 
Illinois. The area may be conveniently referred to as the eastern 
Gulf region. 

The investigations conducted preliminary to the preparation of this 
report have not been confined to the State of Georgia, but have been 
extended along the whole area in which Cretaceous deposits occur in 
the eastern Gulf region. Nearly all the type sections of previously 
recognized geological formations have been studied, together with 
numerous additional localities. As complete sets of fossils have been 
collected as the semi-reconnaissance nature of the work permitted. 

One of the important results of these investigations has been the 
demonstration of the fact that lithologic criteria alone can not be 
relied upon in establishing the stratigraphic and age relationships of 
the Upper Cretaceous deposits; for materials bearing a close physical 
resemblance may differ markedly in age and, conversely, materials 
very different in physical appearance may be contemporaneous. In 
such cases the relative ages can only be determined by a critical com¬ 
parison of the contained life remains. This has been attempted, and, 
although additional work is needed to fill in certain gaps, it is be¬ 
lieved that sufficiently definite results have been obtained to warrant 
the main conclusions reached. The work of determining the fossils 
has been hampered by the fact that the types of many of the species 
have not been at hand for comparison, making it necessary to depend 
upon descriptions and published figures. Errors have doubtless been 
made which will be discovered in future monographic studies of the 
fossils. The lists given iti the texts must, therefore, be regarded as of 
a preliminary character. 

A preliminary report on the Cretaceous deposits of the eastern Gulf 
region has been prepared and will be published in the near future. 
The table, plate V, prepared from the data obtained through these 
general investigations, shows the lithologic variations and the age rela¬ 
tionships of the eastern Gulf Cretaceous, and correlates these deposits 
with the Cretaceous of the Carolinas and the middle Atlantic region 
(Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey). 


CRETACEOUS 


67 


HISTORICAL REVIEW 

The tirst investigator to recognize the presence of deposits of Cre¬ 
taceous age in Georgia was Charles Lyell. 1 2 His conclusions were 
based on the results of observations made while traveling in Horth 
America in the years 1841-1842. In a statement explanatory of the 
general structure of the Coastal Plain of South Carolina and Georgia, 
he says: 

“On the whole it appears, from the information I obtained, that the less 
eletaied part ol South Carolina and Georgia, intervening between the moun¬ 
tains and the Atlantic, has a foundation of cretaceous rocks, containing 
Belemnites, Exogyra. and other fossils, above which are, first, eocene lime¬ 
stones and marls, and secondly, the burrstone formation, with its red loam, 
mottled clays, and yellow sand.” 


Beds of L ower Cretaceous age near Augusta were examined by 
him, but he did not distinguish between them and overlying Eocene 
strata. 

During a second visit to Korth America in the years 1845-1846 
Lyell" visited parts of Georgia in which strata of Cretaceous age ap¬ 
pear at the surface. The Cretaceous beds in the vicinity of Macon, 
Bibb County, were referred to the Tertiary, no distinction being made 
between them and the overlying fossiliferous beds of the Eocene. The 
Cretaceous age of some of the strata near Columbus was recognized. 
The following is quoted : (p. 33.) 

“Columbus, like so many towns on the borders of the granitic and ter¬ 
tiary regions, is situated at the head of the navigation of a large river, and 
the rapids of the Chattahoochee are well seen from the bridge by which it is 
here spanned. The vertical rise and fall of this river, which divides Georgia 
from Alabama, amounts to no less than 60 or 70 feet in the course of a year; 
and the geologist should visit the country in November, when the season 
is healthy, and the river low, for then he may see exposed to view, not only 
the horizontal tertiary strata, but the subjacent cretaceous deposits, con¬ 
taining ammonites, baculites, and other characteristic fossils. These organic 
remains are met with some miles below the town, at a point called ‘Snake’s 
Shoals;’ and Dr. Boykin showed us a collection of the fossils at his agree¬ 
able villa in the suburbs. In an excursion which I made with Mr. Pond to 
ihe Upotoy Creek, I ascertained that the cretaceous beds are overlaid every¬ 
where by tertiary strata, containing fossil wood and marine shells.” 


In 1849 George White 3 gave a brief account of the geology of 
Georgia. Of the Cretaceous he says: (p. 21.) 


“The Cretaceous formation is, with the. exception of a small patch at 
Sandersville confined to parts of the counties of Randolph, Stewart, Mus- 


'Quarterly Journal, Geol. Soc. London, A ol. 1. 1845. pp. 429-442 

2 A Second Visit to the United States of North America, London, 1849, 2 t ols.; 1st 
vol 368 r>n * 2d vol.. 385 pp. Especially 2d vol., p. 33. . , 

‘Statistics' of the State of Georgia; Savannah, 1849 620 pp. Geological map of 

State at end. Especially pp. 21, 448, 495, 522. 



68 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


cogee, Marion and Macon. Although its existence in these counties is well es¬ 
tablished by characteristic fossils, but little is known of the nature of the 
rocks in which they are found. A deposit in the Chattahoochie in Stewart 
County, from which the writer of this article, through the liberal exertions 
of H. T Hall, Esq., of Columbus, and I. C. Plant, Esq., of Macon, obtained 
teeth of the Geosaurus, Mosasaurus of an extinct crocodile, Lamna accuminata, 
and Galleus pristodatus, is identified with the ferruginous sand formation of 
New Jersey, as well as by the constitution of the soil as by its fossil remains. 

“On the Petalau Creek in Randolph County (now Clay County), and at 
several other points, Ammonites placenta, Exogyra costata, Belemnites 
Americanus, and a large Cucullia have been found.” 


On a geological map of the State at the end of the volume, the Cre¬ 
taceous is represented as covering a triangular area east of Chatta¬ 
hoochee River, cornering at Columbus, Knoxville, and the mouth of 
Pataula Creek on Chattahoochee River. 

In 1853 Jules Marcou 1 2 published a geological map of the United 
States, in which the Cretaceous is represented as covering a tri¬ 
angular area in Georgia similar to that represented on the map of 
George White, hut Macon is made the eastern corner of the triangular 
area instead of Knoxville. 

In 1858, H. D. Rogers,' describing the distribution of Cretaceous 
deposits in the United States, said concerning their occurrence in the 
Eastern Gulf region: (p. 765.) 


“The great continuous southern belt commences in Georgia near the 
Oconee River south of Milledgeville, and quickly expanding to a width of 60 
or 80 miles, extends W. from the Flint River of that State through Alabama, 
where it sweeps around the S. promontory of the Appalachian chain and the 
Faleozoic formations, and stretches northward, holding about the same 
breadth, through Mississippi and western Tennessee as far as the W. corner 
of Kentucky.” 


An important contribution to the Paleontology of the Cretaceous 
of the Chattahoochee region made by T. A. Conrad 3 in 1860. He 
describes a large number of new species of invertebrate fossils from 
Eufaula, Barbour County, Alabama, collected by M. Tuomey, State 
Geologist. He correlates the horizon from which they were taken 
with Cretaceous beds at Owl Creek, Tippah County, Miss., from 
which he 4 had recently described 56 new species of invertebrates. 

The general distribution and character of the Cretaceous deposits 


*A Geological Map of the United States and the British Provinces of North 
America; with an explanatory text, 92 pp., and eight plates of characteristic fossils. 
Boston. 1853. 

2 Sketch of the Geology of the United States, Geology of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2, 1858, 
pp. 741-778. 

descriptions of New Species of Cretaceous and Eocene Fossils of Mississippi and 
Alabama. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., n. s. Vol. 4, 1858-1860. pp. 275-298, pis. 46-47. 

4 Conrad observations on a group of Cretaceous fossil shells, found in Tippah County. 
Mississippi, with descriptions of fifty-six new species. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 
n. s.. vol. 3. 1855-1858, pp. 323-336, pis. 34 and 35. 



CRETACEOUS 


69 


of the State were described by Dr. George Little, State Geologist of 
Georgia/ in 1876. He says: (pp. 38-39.) 

-“In the Mesozoic age, or Secondary of the old geologists, the Triassic and 
Jurassic periods—represented in other Atlantic States by sandstones, coal 
and trap dikes show only the trap dikes of Meriwether, Habersham, and 
other counties, the sandstones, if they exist, being buried under the deposits 
yf sand, clay, and sandy marls filled with the shells of various animals which 
lived in the Cretaceous age in the sea-water which washed against the hard 
granitic cliffs forming the shore line from Columbus to Butler. The greatest 
quantity of these remains is found on the banks of Pataula Creek, in Clay 
County. On examination, these shells prove to be unlike those of animals now 
living, and also different from those which are found in Northwest Georgia, 
in the rocks made in Paleozoic time; and hence, as they are intermediate, 
the age is called that of Middle Life, from the Greek word mesos (middle) 
and zoe (life). The forms correspond to those found in the Chalk Cliffs of 
England; and hence they belong to the Cretaceous age, from the Latin word 
creta (chalk). 

“After the sea-bottom of the Cretaceous period was raised above the level 
of the water, the shore-line extended from Pataula Creek, by Butler, Macon, 
and Milledgeville, to the Savannah River at Augusta.” 

The Cretaceous deposits of central and western Alabama were de¬ 
scribed and classified by Prof. Eugene A. Smith and Mr. L. C. John¬ 
son' in 1887. Four divisions of the Cretaceous were recognized, in 
ascending order, as follows: Tuscaloosa formation, referred 

questionably to the Cretaceous; Eutaw formation; Rotten limestone; 
and Ripley formation. The terms Tuscaloosa and Eutaw were used 
in essentially the same sense as understood by the present writer. 
The term “Rotten limestone” is synonymous with Selma chalk, later 
adopted for the same terrane. The Ripley formation appears to have 
included a portion of the upper part of the “Rotten limestone,” and 
certainly sands and clays above the “Rotten limestone,” since shown to 
be of Eocene age. The occurrence of Cretaceous deposits in eastern 
Alabama is not discussed in the text, but their supposed distribution 
in that region is indicated on a map accompanying the report. Two 
of the divisions, the Eutaw and Ripley formations, are represented on 
this map as extending eastward and intersecting the Chattahoochee 
River. The former apparently coincides approximately with the 
Lower Cretaceous terrane of the present report, and the latter in¬ 
cludes all the Upper Cretaceous strata exposed on the river, embracing 
the Eutaw and Ripley formations of the present report. 

The presence of Cretaceous strata along the fall line extending en¬ 
tirely across the State of Georgia, from Augusta to Columbus, was, 
first recognized by J. W. Spencer. * * 3 * 5 He describes a formation resting 


mand-book of the State of Georgia, accompanied by a Geological Map of the State. 

A ^Tertiary 8 and Cretaceous strata of the Tuscaloosa. Tomhigbee, and Alabama rivers: 

IT S Geol Surv Bull. No. 43, 1887, 189 pp., 21 pis., especially pp. 71-138. 

3 “Southern drift” and its agricultural relations: Bull. Exp. Station. Georgia, 1890. 

5 pp. 



70 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


upon the surface of decayed crystalline rocks in the fall line region, 
consisting of sands, clays, and gravels. The terrane is said to be gen¬ 
erally covered with newer deposits, but is exposed along streams and 
in road and railway cuttings. He correlates these deposits with the 
Tuscaloosa formation of Alabama, and with the Potomac group of the 
Middle Atlantic region. The terrane corresponds to the Lower Cre¬ 
taceous terrane of the present report. The same year W J McGee 
described briefly the character and relations of the Potomac forma¬ 
tion (corresponding to the Lower Cretaceous of this report) in the 
vicinity of Macon, Bibb County, and Columbus, Muscogee County, 
Ga. 1 


The first detailed account of the Cretaceous deposits exposed on 
Chattahoochee River was furnished by D. W. Langdon. 2 A general 
section along the river from Columbus, Ga., to Alum Bluff, Pla., is 
given. Cretaceous strata appear in the river bluffs from Columbus 
to a point about eight miles above Port Gaines, Ga. Three divisions 
are distinguished. The lowest of these, the “Tuscaloosa group,” cor¬ 
responds to the Lower Cretaceous of this report. Langdon mistook 
these Lower Cretaceous sands and clays for the eastward extension of 
the Tuscaloosa formation of Smith. The second division recognized, 
the Eutaw group, corresponds to the Eutaw formation of this report, 
minus the Toprbigbee sand member. The third division recognized, 
the Ripley group, included the Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw 
formation and the Ripley formation of the present report. 

Commenting on the absence of the Rotten limestone (Selma chalk) 
in the Chattahoochee region, Langdon says: (p. 591.) 


“East of the drainage of the Alabama River the Rotten limestone, such 
as occurs in Marengo, Perry, Dallas, Lowndes, and Montgomery counties, 
(Alabama), is not represented. The exact eastern limit of this group has 
not as yet been determined, but evidences of its decreasing thickness are seen 
in the narrow outcrop in the neighborhood of Pike road, Montgomery county, 
where its north and south extent is only five miles, as compared with thirty 
miles in Dallas County. Further than this decrease in thickness, present 
information does not warrant saying anything. As has been stated before, 
no rocks bearing any lithological resemblance to the Rotten limestone have 
been seen overlying the Eutaw group on the Chattahoochee River. Whether 
or not this group is represented by strata of different composition from the 
typical aluminous limestone it is difficult to say, since no critical examination 
of the fossils of the several divisions of the Cretaceous has yet been under¬ 
taken. It is much to be regretted that the divisions have been made on such 
arbitrary grounds as mere lithological differences, since marked variations 
can be noted in almost any stratum of any of the groups, and experience in 
both the Tertiary and the Cretaceous of Alabama has proved the risk of 
creating groups on any but combined physical and faunal differences.” 

Southern extension of the Appomattox formation: Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., toI. 
40. 1800. pp. 15-41. especially pp. 22. 23. 

^Variations in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of Alabama: Bull. Ceol. Soc. 
America, vol. 2, 1890, pp. 587-60.6. 



CRETACEOUS 


71 


In 1891 J. W. Spencer' gave a brief account of the Cretaceous de¬ 
posits in Georgia between the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. He 
adopts Langdon’s classification of the Cretaceous, and repeats his 
section along Chattahoochee River, (pp. 91-99). In a sketch map of 
the region between Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, the Cretaceous 
is represented as forming a belt intersecting the former river from 
Columbus to a point eight miles above Fort Gaines, and intersecting 
the latter river from Knoxville to Montezuma. The “Tuscaloosa for¬ 
mation,’’ corresponding to the Lower Cretaceous beds of this report, 
is represented as forming a belt about eight miles wide along the 
northern edge of the Cretaceous area. 

An admirable detailed report on the geology of the Alabama 
Coastal Plain, by Prof. Eugene A. Smith and Messrs. L. C. Johnson 
and D. W. Langdon, 2 appeared in 1894. Xo changes are made in the 
main divisions previously recognized, as announced by the same 
authors, in publications already cited. The Cretaceous age of the 
Tuscaloosa formation, previously referred questionably to the Cre¬ 
taceous, is definitely assigned to that period. On the authorit}’ of 
Prof. Wm. M. Fontaine and Lester F. Ward, who studied the plant 
remains, the formation is correlated with the “Amboy clays” (Rari¬ 
tan formation) of the Middle Atlantic States, and with the Dakota 
“group” of the Western Interior. The name Selma chalk is proposed 
as a co-name with the term “Rotten limestone.” 

George E. Ladd 3 in 1898 published a preliminary report on the 
clays of Georgia. The fact, previously made known by Spencer, that 
a Potomac group equivalent is present in the fall line region, entirely 
across the State from Augusta to Columbus, is more clearly demon¬ 
strated. He describes in detail many of the exposures in the fall line 
region between the cities mentioned. The terrane described includes 
the strata referred to the Lower Cretaceous in this report. 

In 1903, Prof. S. W. McCallie 4 described an interesting occur¬ 
rence of sandstone dikes in the Cretaceous clays at Slick Bluff, Chat- 
' tahoochee River. (See page 120 of this report.) He expresses the 
opinion that the dikes originated as sand fillings in fissures produced 
by earthquakes. 

* The clays and kaolins of the Cretaceous deposits of the State were 


1 GeH~Surv. of Georgia. First report of progress, 1890-91, 128 pp. Especially pp. 

26 4eDo a rt d o2 1 "the Geology of the Coastal Plain of Alabama : Geol. Surv. of Ala., 

Mo 3 ^^Sini?rRepo 9 rt P Sn fpart'of ^ ^ ° f Ge ° rgia ’ 

Bull. NO, 6-A, .204 pp., 17 plates•. 


See also Notes on the Cretaceous 
Geol Vol. 23, 1899, pp. 240-249. 

♦Sandstone Dikes near Columbus. Georgia. 


and Associated Clays of Middle Georgia. Am. 


Amer. Geol.. Vol. 33, 1903. pp. 199-202. 



72 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


briefly described by Otto Veatch 1 in 1907. Their general distribution 
and character are indicated and a number of specific localities are 
described. 

In 1908, Prof. S. W. McCallie 2 published a report on the under¬ 
ground waters of Georgia, in which a brief account of the geology of 
the State is given. He adopts Langdon’s classification of the Cre¬ 
taceous. The entire Cretaceous is represented by one color on the 
geologic map. 

The discovery of bauxite in Georgia in beds of Lower Cretaceous 
age was announced by Otto Veatch 3 in 1908. The deposit is located 
in Wilkinson County, near McIntyre. The ore occurs at the top of 
the Lower Cretaceous, and in the opinion of the author is an altera¬ 
tion product of the white clay or kaolin which is common in this ter- 
rane in Wilkinson County. 

In 1908 Otto Veatch 4 gave a brief account of the remarkable white 
clays, or kaolins, occurring in the Lower Cretaceous, principally in 
Twiggs County. He discusses their geological occurrence, structure, 
and origin. 

The Georgia Survey in 1909 issued a report on the clays of the 
State, by Otto Veatch/ A more complete account of the Cretaceous of 
the State than that contained in Professor McC allie’s water resources 
report is given. Veatch recognizes the same main divisions of the 
Cretaceous as appear in Langdon’s classification. The Ripley, how¬ 
ever, he subdivides into four parts, namely, in ascending order," the 
“Blufftown marl,” the Cusseta sand, the “Renfroes marl,” and the 
Providence sand. A black and white map is given opposite page 88 
of his report showing the distribution of the several Cretaceous divis¬ 
ions. His usage of names for Ripley subdivisions as compared with 
that adopted for the present report, is explained as follows: The 
“Blufftown marl” corresponds to the Tombigbee sand member of the 
Eutaw formation, and to a part of the overlying Ripley formation; 
the Cusseta sand is the Cusseta sand member of the Ripley forma¬ 
tion ; the “Renfroes marl” is composed of characteristic Ripley mate¬ 
rials and requires no special membership designation; and the Provi¬ 
dence sand becomes the Providence sand member of the Ripley form¬ 
ation. 

Detailed accounts are given of the Cretaceous clays of economic 

1 Kaolins and Fire Clays of Central Georgia : U. S. G. S. Bull. No. 315, 1907. pp 
301-314. 

Underground Waters of Georgia : Geol. Surv. of Georgia, Bull. No. 15, 370 pp., 29 
plates, especially pp. 35-36, geological map opp. p. 32. 

3 A new discovery of bauxite in Georgia : Eng. & Min. Jour., vol. 85, 1908, p. 88. 

4 The kaolins of the Dry Branch region : Econ. Geol.. vol. 3, 1908, pp. 109-117. 

5 Second report on the clays of Georgia : Geol. Survey of Ga., Bull. No. 18, 1909, 
453 pp., 32 plates, especially pp. 82-106. 



Lower Cretaceous Upper Cretaceous 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GEORGIA 


PLATE V 


North Atlantic 
(Maryland, Delaware, 



a The stratigraphic position of the base of the Black Creek 
formation with reference to the eastern Gulf section has not 
been established with accuracy 

b Correlated with the Patuxent formation on physical evidence 
only 

c The synchroneity of the Lower Cretaceous strata of the eastern 
Gulf region with the Patuxent formation has not been established 

Note: Within the Cretaceous portions of the columns age 
equivalencies are shown by horizontal lines, or may be determined 
by projecting horizontal lines 

The spacing in the table does not indicate relative thicknesses of 
formations 

Oblique dashed lines indicate the thinning or disappearance of 
formations or members either by the mergence of the beds along 
the strike into other types of materials, or by the pinching out of 
the beds by unconformity 


LEGEND 



Liopistha protexta sub-zone 



Upper limit of range of typical Exogyt 'a ponderosa 
and lov/er limit of range of typical Exogyra cantata 



Morioniceras sub-zone 


Coffee sand member 
Tombigbee sand member 



Ripley formation 


Eutaw formation 


Tuscaloosa formation 


Lower Cretaceous 



Providence 
sand member 


Selma chalk 


Cusseta 
sand member 



TABLE SHOWING THE LITHOLOGIC VARIATIONS OF THE EASTERN GULF CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS, AND THE AGE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE CRETACEOUS 
DEPOSITS OF GEORGIA TO THOSE OF THE REMAINDER OF TPIE EASTERN GULF REGION; ALSO THE CORRELATION OF THE 
EASTERN GULF CRETACEOUS WITH THE CAROLINA AND NORTH ATLANTIC CRETACEOUS. 


Upper Cretaceous Lower Cretaceous Upper Cretaceous 









































































































































































- 
















LOWER CRETACEOUS 


73 


value, and Appendix D, pp. 430-447, is devoted to the bauxite de- 
posits of the Lower Cretaceous beds. 

Lists of species from the known Cretaceous fossil plant localities of 
Georgia were recorded by E. W. Berry 1 in 1910, and in the same 
paper a new genus and species of Euphorbiacece from one of the lo¬ 
calities, McBride Ford, is described. 

LOWER CRETACEOUS 

DEFINITION 

Ai eal distribution. The Lower Cretaceous strata present in Geor¬ 
gia constitute a terrane whose exact correlation with reference to 
Lower Cretaceous deposits to the northward in the Atlantic Coastal 
Plain is at present not definitely known, but they are believed to 
represent a part of the Potomac group of the Middle Atlantic States. 
This ten ane appears in surface outcrops in Georgia in an extremely 
irregular belt 2 to 30 miles in width, extending entirely across the 
State from Chattahoochee River in the vicinity of Columbus, north¬ 
eastward to Savannah River in the vicinity of Augusta. The irregu¬ 
larities of the belt are due partly to the unevenness of the surface of 
the basement rocks upon which the formation rests; partly to overlaps 
of younger formations; and partly to the deep erosion valleys that the 
streams have developed along the fall line region, causing the under¬ 
lying basement rocks to appear much farther southward in the 
bottoms of these valleys than would otherwise be the case, and 
likewise causing the Lower Cretaceous beds themselves to ap¬ 
pear still farther down these valleys beneath the overlying 
younger formations. These irregularities are most strikingly 
developed in the region between Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers. 
(See geologic map, opposite page 58.) The area in which the beds ap¬ 
pear includes parts of the following counties: Muscogee, Chattahoo¬ 
chee, Talbot, Marion, Taylor, Macon, Crawford, Bibb, Twiggs, Jones, 
Wilkinson, Baldwin, Washington, Hancock, Warren, Glascock, Jeffer¬ 
son, McDuffie, Columbia, and Richmond. 

This Lower Cretaceous terrane continues westward from Georgia 
into Alabama, forming a belt four to eight miles wide lying just 
south of'the Piedmont border, and extending to and probably some¬ 
what beyond the Alabama River. 

Stratigraphic position .—The Lower Cretaceous beds in Georgia 
rest upon a basement of ancient crystalline rocks, all of which are 
believed to be of pre-Cambrian age. The unconformity separating 

Contributions to the Mesozoic flora of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, VI Georgia: 
Bull. Torrey Botan. Club, No. 37, 1910, pp. 503-511. 



74 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


the basement rocks from the Lower Cretaceous deposits represents an 
enormous time interval, including all of Paleozoic time, and the 
Triassic and Jurassic periods of Mesozoic time. The surface of the 
crystalline rocks is very uneven in detail, but in general, slopes to 
the south and southeast beneath the Lower Cretaceous beds. Calcula¬ 
tions from well borings at several places have shown that the amount 
of this general slope in the region of the fall line varies from 25 to 
over 50 feet to the mile. In Jefferson County it maintains a slope of 
between 35 and 40 feet to the mile for a distance of nearly 40 miles 
away from the Piedmont border. 

Between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers the formation is over- 
lain unconformably- by Upper Cretaceous strata belonging to the 
Eutaw and Bipley formations, and to a very limited extent, when 
both of these formations are absent, by Eocene strata; between 
Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers it is overlain unconformably • by 
Eocene strata of the Claiborne group. Locally, where the formation 
is crossed by the larger streams, it is overlain along the valley sides 
by thin Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

The unconformity separating the Lower Cretaceous deposits from 
the overlying Eutaw formation has been observed at a number of 
places in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties, Ga. (see detailed 
sections) ; but the locality where it is best exposed and least obscured 
by weathering, as thus far observed, is in Bussell County, Ala., four 
miles southwest of Columbus, Ga. The contact at this point is sharp 
and unmistakable. Its character is well shown in the photograph, 
plate VI, B. The contact has also been observed on Alabama Biver, 
five miles above Montgomery. 

A short distance west of Alabama Biver in Alabama the formation 
pinches out entirely between the basement rocks and the overlying 
Tuscaloosa formation, allowing the latter to rest directly upon the 
basement floor. 

Lithologic characters .—The Lower Cretaceous materials consist 
predominately of arkosic sand, with, however, a considerable percent¬ 
age of day in the form of interbedded lenses. The sands are usually 
coarse to very coarse in texture, and cross-bedding is general. They are 
composed largely of angular to subangular quartz grains, with, how¬ 
ever, an important percentage of kaolin grains and disseminated 
kaolin particles. In addition, there are subordinate amounts of un- 
decomposed feldspar, mica, and various other minerals derived from 
the crystalline rocks of the adjacent Piedmont region. Locally, the 
sand beds have been indurated, forming friable sandstones. The clay 
lenses vary widely in lithologic character, shape, and extent. In 
thickness they range from an inch or less to a maximum of 30 or 40 


LOWER CRETACEOUS 


75 


feet, and in horizontal extent from a few square feet to many acres. 
In general, the clays are light drab or gray in color, and are more or 
less sandy. Locally, however, there are commercially important clay 
lenses of remarkable whiteness and purity approaching kaolin in com¬ 
position. Lamination is rare, the beds being as a rule massive and 
breaking with a hackly or conchoidal fracture. 

_ ^ or the most part the formation displays great irregularity of bed¬ 
ding. In places, however, a distinct banding of the clay and sand 
layers is apparent, individual beds being traceable for considerable 
distances. Good examples of the latter type of bedding are presented 
by the bluffs of Chattahoochee River below Columbus. 

Locally, coarse gravel lenses and layers occur in the formation, this 
being especially true of the basal portions near the contact with the 
underlying crystalline rocks. Unconformities of little or no time 
significance occur locally within the formation. As the result of the 
shifting of the channels which produced these unconformities clay 
beds within the formation have been tom to pieces and redeposited, 
as evidenced by the large number of rolled clay balls and boulders 
which in many places occur scattered through the sands. The , better 
grades of commercially important clays, so far as known, occur in 
the region between Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers. Beds of very 
fine quality are abundantly developed in Twiggs County and here 
mining operations have been carried on more extensively than else¬ 
where. The same formation contains similar high grade white clay 
beds to the northward in Aiken County, S. C. 

In Wilkinson County the white clays have been locally altered to 
bauxite with pisolitic structure. The bauxite deposits, so far as 
known,' occur immediately beneath the contact of the formation with 
overlying Eocene strata. The white clay and bauxite deposits have 
been described in considerable detail by Otto Veatch. 1 

Strike, dip, and thickness .—The strike of the Lower Cretaceous 
beds in Georgia is in general a little south of a northeast-southwest di¬ 
rection. In Alabama the strike is almost due east and west. There 
is a slight general dip of the beds to the southeast or south at right 
angles to the line of strike. On account of irregularity of bedding, 
and also on account of the limited extent of the exposures, the exact 
amount of dip can not be readily determined. It is greater, however, 
than the gradients of the larger streams and probably averages 25 or 
30 feet to the mile. Data are available for a fairly accurate deter¬ 
mination of the thickness of the formation in the Chattahoochee Val¬ 
ley below Columbus. The point on Chattahoochee River adjacent to 


*Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. IS. 



76 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Columbus, where the surface of the basement rocks passes beneath 
zero water level, has an elevation of about 195 feet above sea level. 
Data furnished by well borings near the mouth of Bull Creek show 
that this surface dips southward beneath the Lower Cretaceous beds 
at an average rate of between 50 and 60 feet per mile. The top of 
the Lower Cretaceous terrane passes beneath water level at Broken 
Arrow Bend, an air-line distance of seven miles south of Columbus, 
at an elevation of about 180 feet above sea level. If the dip of the 
surface of the basement rocks is 50 feet to the mile, seven miles south 
of Columbus at Broken Arrow Bend, it would be 350 feet lower, or 
155 feet below sea level. The thickness of the formation at this point 
would therefore be 155 feet +180 feet, or 335 feet. If the dip of 
the basement rock surface is 60 feet to the mile instead of 50 feet 
the same method of calculation would give the thickness at 405 feet. 
Three hundred and seventy feet, the average of these amounts, is be-. 
Teved to be a close approximation to the total thickness at this point. 

Calculations based upon well data have shown that the probable 
general dip of the unconformity separating the Lower Cretaceous and 
overlying Eutaw beds in this region is 48 or 50 feet to the mile. 
This slope is therefore probably a little less than the slope of the sur¬ 
face of the underlying basement rocks. If these two plains maintain 
their respective degrees of dip they must diverge slightly and the for¬ 
mation must thicken somewhat to the southward. It seems improb¬ 
able, however, that the buried surface of the basement rocks maintains 
so great a degree of slope southward for any great distance away from 
the fall line as it is known to possess in close proximity to the fall 
line. 

A well at Reynolds, Taylor County, is said to have penetrated 600 
feet of Cretaceous strata before encountering the underlying crystal¬ 
line rocks. As the well starts in Lower Cretaceous strata this whole 
thickness, 600 feet if correctly reported, should be referred to this for¬ 
mation. 

Three and one-lialf miles southwest of Louisville, in Jefferson 
County, a well 1,143 feet deep is believed to have penetrated about 
790 feet of Cretaceous strata between the overlying Eocene deposits 
and the basement rocks. 'None but Lower Cretaceous strata outcrop at 
the surface from beneath the Eocene beds along the fall line to the 
northwest of Louisville, but it is not at all certain that all of the Cre¬ 
taceous beds penetrated in the Louisville well should be referred to 
that division. In fact it seems highly probable that buried Upper 
Cretaceous strata exist between the Eocene and Lower Cretaceous 
beds. The thickness of the Lower Cretaceous terrane at this point is 
therefore believed to be considerably less than 790 feet. 


LOWER CRETACEOUS 


77 


From data obtained from wells, and from other considerations, it 
may be shown that in general along the line where the formation 
passes beneath the overlying Upper Cretaceous or Eocene for¬ 
mations, as the case may be, its thickness ranges from 350 to 600 feet, 
although the amount may be less or greater locally. 

Physiographic expression .—The belt in which this Lower Cre¬ 
taceous terrane outcrops at the surface constitutes part of a dissected 
plain which is characterized by a broken, hilly topography, the area 
presenting in fact the roughest surface of any portion of the Coastal 
Plain of Georgia. The elevation of the upland surface ranges from 
400 to 600 feet above sea level. The major streams crossing the area 
have elevations at the fall line at zero water level, ranging from about 
100 feet to about 250 feet. The surface relief therefore reaches a 
maximum of at least 400 feet. This hilly topography is the result of 
active stream erosion caused by the relatively high elevation of the 
area and favored by the unconsolidated, sandy character of the ma¬ 
terials of which the formation is predominantly composed. 

The surface soil throughout the greater part of the area is composed 
of loose gray or yellowish sands, the product of the weathering and 
leachihg of the underlying sand beds of the formation. These surface 
sands have been shifted more or less by winds and torrents so that in 
places they have been entirely removed, and elsewhere have been 
heaped up to abnormal thicknesses. The area forms a part of the so- 
called “sand hill” region of the northern part of the Georgia Coastal 
Plain. 

Paleontologic characters .—A few, faint, indeterminable leaf im¬ 
pressions have been observed in white, sandy clay in a cut of the 
Georgia Railroad at Carr’s Station, Hancock County. With this ex¬ 
ception no fossil remains have been discovered in the beds of this 
formation in Georgia. 

A few poorly-preserved leaf remains were recently collected by the 
writer from this terrane at an exposure in a bluff of Tallapoosa 
River at Old Fort Decatur, Macon County, Alabama. These were 
submitted to E. W. Berry, who expresses the opinion that the beds 
containing them are of Lower Cretaceous age, and they are believed 
to represent a part of the Potomac group of the Middle Atlantic 
States. Further reference will be made to these in the section on 
correlation, pp. 108-111. The cast of a Unio, specifically indeter¬ 
minable, was found in close association with the plant remains at this 
locality. 


78 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


DETAILED SECTIONS 

Chattahoochee River. —Lower Cretaceous strata are exposed in the 
bluffs of Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Muscogee County, to 
Broken Arrow Bend, Chattahoochee County. The specific localities 
referred to on the following pages are indicated in a sketch map of 
the river, Figure 6. 

At Columbus the Lower Cretaceous beds rest unconformably upon 
a basement of ancient crystalline rocks. The latter form the body of 
the hills north of the city and give rise to the rapids iii the river 
opposite the northern half of the city. Their surface dips rapidly to 
the southward under the Coastal Plain sediments, passing beneath 
water level a short distance below the 'Central of Georgia Railway 
bridge. The following section shows the relation of the Lower Cre¬ 
taceous strata to the underlying basement rocks and to the overlying 
Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

Section, Chattahoochee River, bluff at Girard, opposite Columbus, 
at west end of Central of Georgia Railway bridge. 

Feet. In. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

7. Red, coarsely arenaceous clay.6 

6. Reddish and yellowish, argillaceous sand and sandy 
clay, coarse and pebbly, with pockets of pebbles, 

becoming much coarser along base.14 

5. Dark, tough, plastic, sandy clay with indeterminable 

plant fragments.11 

4. Coarse, irregularly bedded sand and gravel, the 
pebbles averaging to % inch in diameter and 

angular to partially rounded.1 6 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous 

•3. Light drab, massive, coarsely sandy, compact clay . . 9 


2.' Argillaceous, very arkosic, light gray, friable sand¬ 
stone .3 

(Unconformity) 

Basement rocks 

1. Deeply decayed crystalline rock (gneiss) to low 

water level.5 

On the south edge of the town of Girard, west of the Central of 
Georgia Railway track, there is an excellent exposure of Lower Cre¬ 
taceous strata in a sand pit. The succession of beds as they appeared 
when visited, is as follows: 


Section at southern outskirts of Girard, Ala. 

Feet 


Pleistocene? (or surface creep). 

6. Sandy and pebbly loam.2 

(Unconformity) 


Lower Cretaceous 









LOWER CRETACEOUS 


79 



Fi g 6—Sketch map of Chattahoochee River, Columbus, Ga., to 

Fort Gaines, Ga. 












80 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


5. Reddish sandy loam, grading down into harsh, 
sandy clay, and this in turn into a slightly in¬ 
durated, arkosic, micaceous sand.25 

4. Mottled purplish and gray, harsh clay. . . 3 

3. Hard, grayish to somewhat mottled, sandy clay .... 6 

2. Gray, in places iron-stained, loose, cross-bedded, very 
arkosic and micaceous sand becoming very coarse 


and gravelly in lower six feet.16 

1. Light, greenish drab clay.12 


The base of the preceding section is 30 or 35 feet above zero water 
level in the river. 

The first prominent exposure immediately on the river below Co¬ 
lumbus is at a point about one-half mile above the mouth of Bull 
Creek on the Georgia side. The section in detail is as follows: 


Section one-half mile above the mouth of Bull Creek, Chattahoochee 

River, left bank. 

Feet 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

4. Yellowish sandy loam grading down into coarse sand 

and gravel.33 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous 

3. Light gray to white, very coarse, cross-bedded, ar¬ 
kosic sand, containing pebbles up to inch in 
diameter .13 

2. Harsh, greenish gray clay, mottled with brown ... 2 6 

1. Greenish gray, finely micaceous, argillaceous sand, 

to water’s edge.3 


The cross-bedded, arkosic layer in the preceding section undulates 
along the bluff but in general dips gently southward and comes to 
water level a few hundred feet below where the section was made. 

A section similar to the preceding occurs at the mouth of Bull 
Creek. 

Thirty-nine wells have been recently drilled in Muscogee County 
about three miles southeast of Columbus, on either side of Bull Creek 
and within one mile of its mouth. All passed entirely through the 
Lower Cretaceous beds and entered the underlying basement rocks. 
Logs of two of these wells are given below. Mr. N. W. Wood, Con¬ 
structing Engineer of the Hudson Engineering Company, 90 West 
Street, New York City, Y. Y., is authority for the lithology. 








GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE VI. 



A. CLAY PIT AT PLANT OP THE GEORGIA KAOLIN COMPANY, TWO MILES 
SOUTHEAST OF DRY BRANCH, IN TWIGGS COUNTY, GA„ SHOWING 
CONTACT BETWEEN WHITE KAOLIN BED OP THE LOWER CRE¬ 
TACEOUS AND OVERLYING SANDS AND CLAYS OF THE 
CLAIBORNE GROUP (EOCENE). 



B. 


EXPOSURE IN CUT OF COLUMBUS-SEALE ROAD, FOUR MILES SOUTHWEST 
OF COLUMBUS, GA., IN RUSSELL COUNTY, ALA.. SHOWING CON¬ 
TACT BETWEEN LOWER CRETACEOUS BED AND THE OVER- 
LYING EUTAW FORMATION. 









LOWER CRETACEOUS 


81 


Log of .Well JV o. 11, located about 600 feet southeast of the mouth 

of Bull Creeh. 


Lower Cretaceous (except a few feet of undifferentiated Pleistocene terrace 
material at top) 


16. Clay . 

15. Soft sand rock. 

14. Harder sand rock. 

13. Sand, with small amount of water 

12. Clay, light in color. 

11. Sand . 

10. Clay, light in color. 

9. Hard sand. 

8. Red clay. 

7. Sand, water-bearing. 

6. Red clay . 

5. Sand, water-bearing. 

4. Yellow clay. 

3. Sand rock. 

Basement rocks 

2. Decayed top of crystalline rock . 
1. Hard crystalline rock. 


Feet 



to 56 

. 56 

60 

. 60 

94 

. 94 

104 

. 104 

107 

. 107 

111 

. Ill 

117 


126 


136 


145 

. 145 

155 

. 155 

158 


160 


173 

. 173 

202 


261 


Log of Well No. 25 locafed about Jf,000 feet southeast of Well No. 1L 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit) Feet 

27. Clay. 0 17 

26. Sand and gravel.17 27 

Lower Cretaceous 

25. White sand rock. 27 31 

24. Brown sand rock. .... 31 38 

23. White sand rock. 38 46 

22. Brown sand rock.46 55 

21. Gray sand rock. 55 69 

20. Brown sand rock .. 69 77 

19. Yellow, sandy clay, soft and sticky. 77 98 

18. White sand, water bearing.98 117 

17. White sandy clay, sticky like putty.117 125 

16. Dark yellow clay.125 134 

15. Blue sandy clay.134 142 

14. Yellow clay.142 147 

13. Blue sandy clay.147 156 

12. Red clay, shaly.156 165 

12: White sand, small amount of water.165 179 

10. Red clay, shaly.179 190 

9. Yellow sandy clay.190 194 

8. White coarse sand, water bearing. 194 210 

7. Red clay, shaly.210 215 

6. Yellow sandy clay. 215 220 

5. Gray sandy clay, lead color. 220 229 

4. Tough, micaceous clay resembling residual mica 

schist. 229 234 

3. Micaceous silt. 234 245 

Basement rocks 

2. Soft gray decomposed crystalline rock. 245 250 

1. Hard crystalline rock. 250 267 













































82 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


At Thomas Bluff, one mile below the mouth of Bull Creek, Lower 
Cretaceous materials are exposed as described in the following section: 

Section at Thomas Bluff, Chattahoochee Biver, Georgia, one mile 
below the mouth of Bull Creek, left bank. (See plate VII, A.) 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) Feet 

2. Sandy loam at top grading down into sand with a 

band of gravel along base.30 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Light gray and greenish gray compact, very arkosic, 
micaceous, coarse sand with many pebbles up to 1 
inch or more in diameter, and in one layer 7 or 8 feet 
above base water-worn chunks of greenish gray, mi¬ 
caceous clay up to 8 inches in diameter. The sand 
shows decided cross-bedding at many places .... 22 

At a point about five and one-half miles below Columbus, and one- 
half mile below the mouth of Brickyard Creek, right bank, the base 
of the bluff at low water exposes about six feet of Lower Cretaceous 
purplish sand and clay. This is overlain by 25 or 30 feet of Pleisto¬ 
cene terrace materials. The upper surface of the Lower Cretaceous 
beds slopes down stream and in a distance of about one-quarter mile 
passes beneath water level, the bluff below this point presenting 
Pleistocene strata from top to base. The Pleistocene materials con¬ 
sist of loam, sand, and gravel, having a total thickness of 35 feet. 
The gravel forms the basal portion of the section, the bed reaching a 
maximum thickness of 12 feet in places. 

From this point to the mouth of Upatoi Creek, with the exception 
of a few low exposures of Lower Cretaceous clay, the bluffs present 
only Pleistocene strata, in places showing heavy beds of gravel in the 
basal portions. 

The Eutaw formation, which overlies the Lower Cretaceous ter- 
rane in this region, makes its first appearance on the river in a bluff 
a short distance below the mouth of Upatoi Creek. The character of 
the materials and the relations of the formations are described and 
figured below. 

Section below the mouth of Upatoi Creek. Chattahoochee Biver, nine 
miles below Columbus, left bank. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposits) Feet 

4. Sandy loam, grading down into clay and'this in turn 

into sand. • • • 

3. Sand and gravel with cobbles at base up to 6 inches 
in diameter. Also occasional pieces of petrified 
wood, and one large petrified log in gravel near 

base.. 1 

(Unconformity.) 





LOWER CRETACEOUS 


83 


Upper Cretaceous 
Eutaw formaiion 

2. Dark gray, finely arenaceous and micaceous clay with 
occasional grains of glauconite, containing a few 
poor impressions of pelecypods near top. Contains 
iron carbonate concretions with poor shell im¬ 
pressions, and occasional pieces of lignite . . . . 1 to 5 
(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Light greenish gray, sandy, micaceous clay, to water’s 

edge . . . ..0 to 3 

A sketch of the face of bluff where the preceding section was made 
is given in fig. 7. 


Pleistocene 
Unconformity 
Lower Cretaceous { 




\ 2 ! 

-Unconformity ' 
’5' Eutaw formation 


h-— 


! 00 '± 


Fig. 7.—Sketch showing relation of Lower Cretaceous beds to Eutaw forma¬ 
tion at bluff below mouth of Upatoi Creek. 


The last exposure of Lower Cretaceous strata seen in descending the 
river is in a bluff on the left bank at Broken Arrow Bend, IOV 2 miles 
below Columbus. Characteristic arkosic sands and clays form the 
base of the section, rising four or five feet above water level at one 
or two places along the face of the bluff. They are overlain uncon- 
formably by laminated sands and clays and fossiliferous marine sands 
of the Eutaw formation. 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee Rivers .—Numerous 
exposures of Lower Cretaceous strata occur east of Chattahoochee 
River in Muscogee County, and in the extreme northern part of 
Chattahoochee County. A number of sections have been examined, 
some of which show the relations of the beds to the underlying base¬ 
ment rocks, and some to the overlying Eutaw formation. 

The beds described in the section given below appear in a road cut 
of the Columbus-Macon road at the eastern edge of the city of Co¬ 
lumbus. 

Section on Columbus-Macon road, a short distance east of Wercoda 
Creek, near the eastern outskirts of Columbus, Gu., on the face of 
the scarp separating the first and second Pleistocene terrace plains. 

Pleistocene. (Second terrace above river.) _Feet. 

4 . Sandy loam and sand.15 or 20 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous 

3. Fine, arkosic, micaceous sand. 4 

2. Light gray, stratified, coarse, very arkosic, micaceous 
sand, streaked with iron stain. The kaolin grains 
reach a maximum of % inch in diameter . . about . 7 

1. Gray or drab clay, not well exposed. 

















84 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


A remnant of Pleistocene terrace deposits consisting of reddish 
and yellowish, argillaceous, pebbly sand, with gravel band along the 
base, rests uncOnformably upon the Lower Cretaceous strata on the 
face of the scarp at the preceding locality. 

An exposure exhibiting an indurated phase of the coarse, arkosie 
sand of this terrane occurs on the Columbus-Macon road, three and 
one-half miles northeast of Columbus. The section is described be¬ 
low. (See plate VII, B, opposite page 88.) 

i 

Section on Columbus-Macon road, three and one-half miles, northeast 

of Columbus, Ga. 

Lower Cretaceous Feet 

3. Light gray, extremely coarse, very arkosie, pebbly 
sand, the sand grains and pebbles angular. The 
pebbles consist principally of quartz, reaching 


maximum diameters of several inches, but there is 
a considerable intermingling of feldspar fragments. 
Along the base occur large chunks of mechanically 

introduced clay.10 

2. Light gray, very coarse, friable, arkosie sandstone, 

with texture similar to preceding.. . 5 

1. Light gray, somewhat finer, compact arkosie sand . 2 


The road to the northeast of the preceding exposure passes up a hill 
about 50 feet in height in a distance of one-quarter mile. Poor ex¬ 
posures in the road ditches reveal materials similar to the preceding 
with subordinate clay lenses. Coarse gravels appear in the upper 
part of the section, but whether these should be referred to the Lower 
Cretaceous or to a younger surficial formation has not been ascer¬ 
tained. 

Gravels similar to those just mentioned cap the hills to the west 
and east of Cooper Creek on the same road. The body of these hills 
is made up of Lower Cretaceous coarse, arkosie sands and sandy clays. 
Small exposures of the formation occur along this road still farther to 
the northeastward. At a point seven miles northeast of Columbus 
the contact of the formation with the underlying basement crystal¬ 
lines appears in a road ditch exposure. A section made at this place 
is given below. 

Section, Columbus-Macon road, 7 miles northeast* of Columbus, Ga. 


Lower Cretaceous Feet 

3. Argillaceous sand and gravel with creep gravel ex¬ 
tending a considerable distance down the hill 

slope.10 

2. Coarse arkosie sands with subordinate 'sandy clay 

lenses, about.40 

(Unconformity.) 

Basement rocks 

1. Decayed crystalline rock, apparently a gneiss, with 

quartz veins.3 







LOWER CRETACEOUS 


85 


, ^, n ^ le . p°I um bus-Cusseta road, one and one-half miles southeast 
° e budge over Bull Creek, and about four and one-half to five 
miles southeast of Columbus (see topographic map, Columbus quad¬ 
rangle), where the road leads up from the first Pleistocene terrace to 
t le upland, the strata making up the hill are exposed, in part poorly, 
from the base to the top, making in all a thickness of about 140 feet, 
ihe lower 20 feet, consisting of coarse, cross-bedded, more or less 
arkosic sand, is. referable to the Lower Cretaceous. The remainder 
of the section with the possible exception of the upper 18 feet, which 
may belong to a younger surficial formation, is classed with the Eutaw 
formation. The strata consists largely of sands and clays of marine 
origin. The contact between the Lower Cretaceous beds and the 
Eutaw formation is somewhat obscure owing to the resemblance of 
the sands of the former to the sands forming the basal beds of the 
latter. It is believed, however, that unconformable relations exist 
between the two divisions and that this unconformity represents an 
important time hiatus. (See detailed section, p. 124.) 

Exposures of the formation were observed along the Steam Mill 
road running a little south of east of Columbus (first road south of 
the Buena-Vista road, see topographic map of Columbus quadrangle), 
but most of these are small and unimportant. One, however, seven 
miles from Columbus, where the road passes up the westward facing 
slope of Tiger Creek Valley, presents phenomena of interest. The 
hill here is 100 feet high above the creek valley. The lower 80 feet 
of the section consists of light colored, coarse, irregularly bedded, 
arkosic sand, with subordinate light clay lenses. This is overlain, 
probably unconformablv, by beds of the Eutaw formation which 
make up the upper 18 or 20 feet of the section. (See detailed section, 
p. 124.) The contact between the Lower Cretaceous strata and the 
Eutaw formation is rendered somewhat obscure by similarity of ma¬ 
terials and weathering, but its approximate position is marked by an 
irregular line of iron crusts. 

Other less conspicuous exposures of characteristic Lower Cre¬ 
taceous materials were observed for several miles to the eastward along 
this road. On the divide between Steam Mill Creek and Wolf Creek 
there is a relatively thin capping of weathered marine materials of 
the Eutaw formation resting upon the Lower Cretaceous beds. 

In the extreme northern part of Chattahoochee County the north¬ 
ward facing bluffs of ITpatoi Creek exhibit Lower Cretaceous strata 
in their basal portions, their upper parts being made up of Eutaw 
beds. These were studied at three places as described below. 

Just above the bridge of the Columbus-Lumpkin road, seven and 
one-half miles south of Columbus, the base of the bluff from the 


86 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


water’s edge to a height of 10 feet is composed of light gray, compact 
sands and clays, referable to the Lower Cretaceous. These are over- 
lain by dark, calcareous marine sands and clays of the Eutaw forma¬ 
tion. Although the latter formation is not marked at its base by a 
conglomerate the contact with the underlying formation is sharp, the 
change in the character of the materials being abrupt. It is believed 
that unconformable relations exist. 

The second place examined is at a point one-quarter mile below 
the Columbus-Cusseta road bridge, and about seven miles southeast 
of Columbus. The bluff is 90 feet high. The upper 40 feet of the 
section consists of fossiliferou$ marine sands and clays of the Eutaw 
formation. Below this occur 20 feet of light gray, coarse, cross- 
bedded, in places arkosic, sand, more or less streaked with yellow, 
with some sandy clay layers, referable to the Lower Cretaceous. At 
the time examined the basal 30 feet was covered by talus. The con¬ 
tact between the Lower Cretaceous and Eutaw formation was some¬ 
what obscure owing to talus and vegetation. (See detailed section, 

p. 126.) 

Just above McBride Ford, 11 miles south of east of Columbus, 
air-line distance, the creek bank presents another instructive section, 
the details of which are described below. (See also p. 127 of this 
report.) 


Section, Upatoi Creek, just above McBride Ford , 11 miles south 
east of Columbus, Ga. 

Feet 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). 

3. Principally sand with a gravel band along base . . . . 10 to 12 
(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous 
Eutaw formation. 

2. Irregularly bedded, coarse, arkosic, crossbedded sand, 
with subordinate chocolate to black clay lenses. 

The sand is in places full of small angular quartz 
pebbles and some feldspar fragments, the basal 
portions being especially coarse. The materials 
contain considerable lignite, some of which is in 
the form of fairly large logs. The clay lenses con¬ 
tain leaf impressions, for the most part imperfect. 

In one dark clay lens, 6 to 10 inches thick, how¬ 
ever, near the lower end of the bluff, a number of 


well preserved species were found.12 to 15 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Light gray, arkosic sand, and drab clay breaking 

with hackly fracture.0 to 5 


of 


The unconformity separating the Lower Cretaceous and Eutaw 
beds is fairly sharp and easily traceable for several hundred feet 
along the bluff, although the materials above and below the contact 




LOWER CRETACEOUS 


87 


do not differ markedly. The line of contact undulates along the 
face of the bluff, varying from low water level to live feet above that 
datum. The plants found in the clay lenses above the contact are 
characteristic Upper Cretaceous forms. A list of the species from 
this locality with the description of one new species has been pub¬ 
lished by E. W. Berry. 1 If the reference of the basal beds of the 
section to the Lower Cretaceous is correct the unconformity at this 
point represents an important time hiatus. 

The Lower Cretaceous terrane is present in Talbot County in a 
belt paralleling the southern boundary of the county three to six 
miles in width. The formation rests unconformably upon a base¬ 
ment of crystalline rocks. The following log of a well located one- 
half mile east of Geneva has been obtained, J. F. Downs, the owner, 
is authority for the lithology. 

Log of well located on “A very high elevated place 100 yards from 
Central of Georgia,” Talbot County. 

Lower Cretaceous Feet. 

1. Hard, red gravel with some “chalk” (white clay) and 

some sand, water-bearing in lower 5 feet.0 to 50 

Yeatch describes a section two miles southeast of Geneva in which 
the several strata of sand and clay are indurated. It is copied as 
follows: (Clay Report, p. 228.) 

6. Clay. 3 

5. Soft sandstone. 15 

4. Jointed, purplish clay, indurated.6 

3. Soft, yellow sandstone.20 

2. Purplish, hard-jointed clay, with large quartz grains ... 5 

1. Soft, yellow, crossbedded .sandstone.20 

Yeatch states that southward from the preceding, “The section is 
overlain by a loose, brown or yellow sand, belonging to the Upper 
Cretaceous (Eutaw).” (Clay Report, pp. 228-229.) He also says, 
“North and west of Geneva near the contact with the crystalline rock 
the material composing the Cretaceous is coarse and the clay is bril¬ 
liantly colored by iron.” (Clay Report, p. 229.) He mentions white 
sandy clays-referable to this formation near Junction City. Beds 
of this formation are believed to be present along Juniper Creek in 
the extreme northern part of Marion County, but detailed informa- 

tion has not been obtained. . _ . , . 

Lower Cretaceous beds are present m Taylor County in a belt 
several miles wide running east and west through the central part of 
the county There is but little detailed information concerning in¬ 
dividual outcrops. The formation rests with noneonformable rela- 

■Bull. Toney Botan. Club, No. 37, 1910. pp. 503-511. 









88 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


taons upon crystalline basement rocks and is believed to be overlain 
unconformably by Upper Cretaceous sands and clays. 

The following data are taken from Veatch’s clay report, (pp. 
223-224.) 


Sands of both the Upper and Lower Cretaceous occur in this county and 
are clay-bearing. The sands of the Lower Cretaceous are not easily distin¬ 
guished from those of the Upper Cretaceous, and the white clays of both are 
similar in occurrence, but those in the vicinity of Butler, in the Tuscaloosa 
I Lower Cretaceous, but not Tuscaloosa] are purer and more extensive than 
elsewhere in the county. 

North of Butler the sand is noticeably coarser and more pebbly than 
south; there are beds of coarse, granular quartz pebbles and occasionally 
some feldspar pebbles; and at one point, a hard clay-arkose breccia, similar 
to that noted at Grovetown and Hephzibah, was found.” 

The log of an 80-foot well at Reynolds is given below. The descrip¬ 
tion of the beds penetrated was furnished by the owner, A. J. Craw¬ 
ford. 


Log of well located 600 yards southeast of the postofjice at Reynolds , 
Ga. Elevation at mouth, 1+3,3-\- feet. 

Feet. 

Lower Cretaceous 


5. Sandy soil. 1 to 4 

4. Clay. 4 11 

3. “Chalk” (white clay) and clay. 11 23 

2. Coarse sand with some water at base. 23 33 


1. Alternating layers of clay, rock, and mud, fur¬ 
nishing a small amount of water at base ... 33 80 

About the southern one-half of Crawford County is underlain by 
Lower Cretaceous strata, the belt of outcrop averaging four or five 
miles in width and extending in a general northeast-southwest direc¬ 
tion. The lower and upper relations are the same as in the preceding 
county. Upper Cretaceous strata overlap the Lower Cretaceous beds 
in a strip several miles wide along the southeastern border of the 
county. There are several interesting exposures within this area. 

Rich Hill is a prominent hill about five miles southeast of Roberta. 
Its elevation above sea level is estimated from aneroid readings to 
be something over 600 feet. Deep gullies have been washed in the 
slopes of the hill both on the north and south sides. Cretaceous beds 
make up the basal 30 feet of the exposed portion of the hill, the over- 
lying beds constituting an Eocene outlier. The following section was 
made in one of the southward-facing gullies. 






GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE VII. 



A. THOMAS BLUFF, CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER. ONE MILE BELOW THE MOUTH 
OF BULL CREEK. MUSCOGEE COUNTY, GA., SHOWING 
LOWER CRETACEOUS STRATA. 



B. 


'CPOSTTRE IN CUT OF COLUMBUS-MACON ROAD, THREE AND ONE-HALF 

MILES NORTHEAST OF COLUMBUS. GA.. SHOWING INDURATED 
MILES NUKlH£Abi o U LQWER CRE TACEOUS ARKOSE. 


























































































































I 
















































































LOWER CRETACEOUS 


89 


baction at Rich Hill , five miles southeast of Roberta. Gully on south 

slope of hill. 

Eocene. Feet 

3. Sand, clay and limestone. (For details see section, 

T „ P- 299). q n , 

Lower Cretaceous . D 

2. White clay, varying in thickness and texture' very 

pure in places. ’.... 10 

1. White, crossbedded, arkosic, micaceous sand, medium 
to coarse in texture, with subordinate lenses of 
white micaceous clay reaching 3 feet or more in 
thickness. 


Cretaceous strata are exposed in a series of cuts of the Southern 
Kailway from one-quarter mile to about one-mile north of Zenith 
Station. The details of this section are given on page 167. It will 
be observed that clay supposed to belong to the Lower Cretaceous ap¬ 
pears in the base of the three cuts farthest north. This is overlain 
unconformably by coarse and fine sands and laminated clays of the 
Upper Cretaceous. The Lower Cretaceous clay is massive and putty¬ 
like when wet, and is usually light in color, but is considerably 
blotched with pink and purple tints. The correlation of this clay bed 
with.the Lower Cretaceous is made on the grounds of its lithologic 
resemblance to the clays of that formation, and its unconformable re¬ 
lations with the overlying Upper Cretaceous sands and clays. Sim¬ 
ilar clays are exposed in a gully a short distance west of these cuts 
on the property of Phil Ogletree. 

A well on the property of Phil Ogletree, one mile northwest of 
Zenith, exhibits the following strata, the owner being authority for 
the lithology as given. 


Section of well one mile northwest of Zenith. 

3. Red clay.? 

2. White kaolin (clay).? 

1. Sand and gravel water-bearing.? 


45 

The white clay and the water-bearing sand and gravel probably 
belong to the Lower Cretaceous. 

A well owned by Isaac Miller, four and one-half miles northwest 
of Fort Valley, in Crawford County, having a depth of 103 *feet, 
penetrated, at its base, three feet of white clay, which is questionably 
referred to the Lower Cretaceous. (See section p. 168.) 

A well owned by Wm. J. Dent, one-quarter mile southwest of Ro¬ 
berta, is said by the owner to have been dug through hard clay with 
streaks of white “chalk” (clay) and to have obtained water from sand 









90 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


beneath the clay at a depth of 42 feet. The beds penetrated should 
probably be referred to the Lower Cretaceous. 

The Lower Cretaceous terrane is present over about the southeast¬ 
ern two-thirds of Bibb County, either at the surface or immediately 
beneath thin surficial deposits belonging to later formations. The 
formation rests upon crystalline rocks and is believed to be uncon- 
fonnably overlain along the southern' border of the county by Upper 
Cretaceous sands and clays. An excellent exposure may be seen on 
the Central of Georgia Railway at Rutland, six and one-half miles 
south of Macon. The section is as follows: 


Section at Rutland, Ga., in cut of Central of Georgia Railway. 


Pleistocene. 

4. Yellow, red, and mottled, weathered, sandy clay form¬ 
ing a fairly definite band along the top of the 
section. At south end of cut separated from under¬ 
lying sand by iron crust one inch thick ..... 

3. Coarse, pebbly, gray to red argillaceous sand with 
small lenses of pebbles, forming a fairly well de¬ 
fined band. 

2. Fairly well-defined band of yellowish and. reddish 
gravel with coarse sand matrix and with inter¬ 
spersed lenses of coarse sand. Locally indurated 
to a conglomerate or coarse sandstone. The peb¬ 
bles are mostly angular or slightly waterworn, and 
re^ch a maximum of 4 or 5 inches in diameter . 

(Undulating unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Pale yellow or cream to almost white, massive finely 
arenaceous, micaceous clay, grading laterally at the 
north end of the cut into white or cream, cross- 
bedded coarse, extremely micaceous sand .... 


Feet. 


5 to 7 

5 6 

6 10 

3 8 


Other cuts within one-half mile to the northward show materials 
with relations similar to the preceding. In a cut of the same rail¬ 
road, four and one-half miles south of Macon, the following section 
is revealed. 


Section in 


cut of Central of Georgia Railway, four 
south of Macon, Ga. 


and one-half miles 

Feet. 


Pleistocene. 

3.. Coarse, yellow, rather loose sand.2 to 3 

# 2. Mottled red, yellow, and gray, very coarse, cross- 
bedded, pebbly sand with irregularly distributed 
gravel lenses. Pebbles mostly angular, some fairly 
well rounded, reaching a maximum of 3 or 4 inches 

in diameter.2 o 

(Unconformity undulating 5 to 10 feet above base.) 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Very coarse, cross-bedded, sharp, light gray, argil¬ 
laceous sand streaked with yellow, with local lenses 
of white clay and scattered clay balls.5 10 








LOWER CRETACEOUS 


91 


One and one-lialf miles soutli of the station at Macon a cut of the 
Central of Georgia Railway reveals a section as described below: 

Section at overhead bridge, Central of Georgia Railway, one and 

one-half miles south of Macon. 

Feet 

Pleistocene. 

3. Reddish sandy clay. 5 

2. Mottled yellow and red, argillaceous sand with scat¬ 
tered pebbles at the top, becoming more pebbly and 
grading into a gravel bed with sand matrix at base. 


(Unconformity, slightly undulating) .5 to 6 

Lower Cretaceous 

1. Cross-bedded arkosic, argillaceous sand.6 to 7 


Exposures similar to the preceding occur for one-quarter mile north 
of the overhead bridge. Less important exposures of Lower Cre¬ 
taceous strata occur at various places in the vicinity of Macon. 

Otto Veatch furnishes the following information concerning occur¬ 
rences of the formation in this county west of Ocmulgee River, 
(clay report, pp. 207-208.) 

“At a point on the lower river public road, five miles below Macon, six 
feet of white clay is exposed in a cut. It is overlain by a red sand containing 
thin clay layers and fragments of white clay, and is underlain by white 
micaceous sand. ' 

“In the western part of the county, along Echaconne Creek, beds of 
white clay will be found in the Cretaceous sands. But little or no prospect¬ 
ing for clay has been done in this part of the county, and but little is known 
concerning these deposits. Judging from the few observations made during 
field work, the beds are likely to be thin, and stained with iron oxide.” 

In the region to the southwest of Macon, there are remnants of 
overlapping strata, which are questionably referred to the Eocene. 

Region between Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers. —Veatch gives the 
following information concerning the materials referable to the Lower 
Cretaceous in Bibb County east of Ocmulgee River: (clay report, 

p. 207.) 

“In the cuts of the railroads, going east from Macon, good exposures of 
white clayey sands may be seen, but the amount of clay is small. * * * 

“A typical occurrence of these clayey sands may be seen in the cut of 
the abandoned Macon and Augusta railroad, three miles east of Macon.” 

“At Brown Mountain in the southern part of the county, nine miles 
from Macon, 110 feet of white, clayey sand is exposed at the base of the hill. 
This sand is Cretaceous, (Tuscaloosa) [Lower Cretaceous and not Tuscaloosa] 
and contains thin layers and fragments or pellets of white, pure clay, but no 
thick beds of kaolin have been found. About two miles south of this point 
on the Tharpe estate, white clay has been found at the base of a fullers earth 
deposit, but as far as the writer knows no effort has been made to determine 
its quantity.” 

The greater part of Twiggs County is covered with deposits of 
Eocene age. However, in a small area in the western part of the 


/ 





92 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


county the Lower Cretaceous strata come to the surface, and in the 
north, in what is known as the Dry Branch region, an interesting and 
economically important area of the formation has been produced by 
the removal of the overlying Eocene strata by stream erosion. 

At the pit of the American Clay Company near Eleven Mile Post 
(east of Macon) the following succession of strata was observed: 

Section at pit of American Clay Company , Eleven Mile Post, Ga. 


Eocene. Feet. 

Claiborne group. 

2. Sand and clay (for details see section, p. 294) . . 28 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White to very light gray, massive clay (used in 

the manufacture of paper). 18-f 


Veatch described the Cretaceous clay at this locality as follows: 

“The clay is a soft, iron-stained kaolin, and is sold entirely to paper manu¬ 
facturers. 

“The clay bed is known to attain a thickness of 18 feet, the upper 10 
feet of which is stained more or less yellow by iron oxide, while the lower 
part is a soft, gray, micaceous clay.” (clay report, p. 138.) 

The plant of the Atlanta Mining & Clay Company is located about 
one-half mile distant from the preceding locality, on the east side of 
the tracks of the Macon, Dublin & Savannah Railroad. This com¬ 
pany is mining a bed of white clay which occupies the same, or ap¬ 
proximately the same, stratigraphic position as the preceding. Veatch 
describes this clay as follows: 

“A thickness of 25 feet of clay is known to occur, but at present only 8 
to 15 feet are mined. The clay bed is for the most part a soft, plastic, white 
clay. The clay is massive and occurs in a single bed; it is jointed and shows 
slickensided surfaces, but presents no definite system of jointing, and is slight¬ 
ly stained by iron and manganese oxides along the joint planes. The bed 
shows variations in thickness, due either to irregularities of deposition or to 
erosion. The strata here are almost horizontal, and are but little disturbed 
from their original positions. The clays in the two pits, about 200 yards 
apart, are parts of the same bed. The clay bed becomes micaceous at the bot¬ 
tom, and is underlain by white sand and gravel.” . (Clay Report, pp. 130-131.) 

The Lower Cretaceous clay at this locality is overlain unconform- 
ably by Eocene strata. For a detailed section see page 294 of this 
report. 

A bed of white clay or kaolin occupying approximately the same 
stratigraphic position as those previously described, is mined hv the 
Georgia Kaolin Company, two miles southeast of Dry Branch. The 
following section describes the strata as they appeared at the time the 
pits were visited: 



LOWER CRETACEOUS 


93 


section at pits of Georgia Kaolin Company, two miles southeast of 

Dry Branch. 


Eocene. 

Claiborne group. 

2. Sands and clays (for details of section see p. 256) 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Massive, white clay or kaolin. 


Feet. 


131 

18 


I lie unconformable contact separating the Cretaceous and Eocene 
strata at this locality is shown in the photograph, plate VI, A, oppo' 
site page 80. 

\ eatch describes the Lower Cretaceous clay bed at the preceding; 
locality as follows: 


“The clay mined occurs in one massive bed, which, in the pit that was 
being worked during 1907, attained a thickness of 20 feet. This entire thick¬ 
ness is probably as much as 85 per cent, pure clay, and in places the clay 
occurs in minable quantities as high as 98 per cent, pure without washing. 

The clay, as it appears in the bed and in the moist condition, is a drab 
or cream color, but becomes white when dry. The bed is jointed throughout, 
and presents slickensided surfaces along the joint planes. The clay in the 
upper part of the bed is a semi-hard to a flint clay, and may be stained slight¬ 
ly along the joint planes by manganese and iron oxides. The manganese is 
rarely in appreciable quantity and occurs as a very thin coating or stain, or 
is often in the form of fern-like dendrites. In the upper part of the bed there 
are also curious “fingers” and cylinders of sand, penetrating the white clay. 
This is a phenomenon observed nowhere else in the Dry Branch region, and is 
difficult of explanation. The “fingers” of sand are usually vertical or oblique, 
and are not more than one or two inches in diameter. The sand in them is a 
yellow, coarse quartz, clayey sand, which may be calcareous, and has been 
observed to contain poorly preserved fossil remains. These “fingers” are not 
large nor very abundant, but detract from the value of the clay where they 
occur and the upper part of the bed is thrown away as waste, or sold as fire 
clay and sagger clay. They are confined to the upper two or three feet of the 
bed, and are probably purely local and may not be found at all in future 
work. 

“The lower part of the bed is a soft, white, gritless kaolin which is pure 
enough to place on the market without preliminary washing.”—(clay report 
pp. 125-126.) 


Slight movement along joints in the clay at the preceding locality 
has been noted by Veatch. 

The following data concerning other localities where the formation 
has been observed in Twiggs County have been abstracted (not 
quoted) from Veatch’s clay report and from his unpublished notes: 
(pp. 142-143, 146-147, 149-152.) 

On the property of I. Mandle and Company, two miles south of Dry 
Branch, 10 feet of white, semi-hard, high grade pottery clay is exposed in a pit 
at the company's mines. The clay bed is reported to have a total thickness 
of 15 feet. It is overlain by (Eocene) sand and clay. The relation of the 
clay bed to the.overburden is shown in the following sections: 



94 


GEOLOGY OE THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section in clay pit of I. Handle and Company, two and one-half miles 

south of Dry Branch, Ga. 


Eocene. Feet. 

4. Red sand, about.•. 8 

3. Drab laminated clay, about. 2 

2-. Gray and yellow sand with white clay fragments 

near base. Fossiliferous. .. 5 to 10 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White, semi-hard, jointed clay.10 to 15 


At the pit of the old Rico Kaolin Mine, one and one-half miles 
east of Philips Station, a white Cretaceous clay bed with relations 
as shown in the following section is exposed: 

Section at old Rico Kaolin Mine, one and one-half miles east of . 

Philips Station. 


Eocene. Feet. 

Claiborne group. 

2. Red sand, containing white clay fragments and 
fragments of clay having a concretionary or 

bauxitic appearance. 8 to 10 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White clay, micaceous in the upper 8 feet with a 
micaceous, argillaceous sand lens several feet 
. thick at one end of the section. 16 


In the vicinity of Bond’s store (Delzell P. O.) there are numerous occur¬ 
rences of white clays, the beds ranging in thickness from 10 to 30 feet. 

Four feet of bluish white, plastic clay was encountered in a well on the 
property of Monroe Phillips at Reids Station, the bed being 18 feet below the 
surface. This probably belongs to the Lower Cretaceous. 

Twelve feet of light, cream-colored clay, probably referable to this forma¬ 
tion, outcrops on the property of Mrs. S. Napier, one-half mile south of Myrick 
Mill, five miles north of Jeffersonville. 

Por further information concerning the Dry Branch region see 
Veatch’s paper, “The Kaolins of the Dry Branch Region, Georgia," 
Economic Geology, Vol. 3, 1908, pp. 109-117. 

The Lower Cretaceous terrane is present in the southeastern one- 
fourth of Jones County. It rests upon a foundation of ancient crys¬ 
talline rocks and is overlain unconformably over a part of the area by 
Eocene strata (Claiborne group). 

Yeatch, in his clay report, has described Lower Cretaceous strata 
near Griswoldville, on the property of J. R. Van Buren (pp. 153- 
158). The substance of the geological data.in.this account is given 
in the following three paragraphs: 

The main exposure is in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway one and 
one-quarter miles west of the station. This cut is 200 yards long and 40 feet 
deep. The materials consist of irregularly bedded, gray, arkosic and micaceous 
sands, and white, drab, and bluish gray clays. The clay beds are in the form 








LOWER CRETACEOUS 


95 


of lenses six to ten feet in thickness. Towards the east end of the cut the 
ower y letaceou s beds are overlain with apparent unconformity by red sands, 
believed to be referable to the Eocene (Claiborne group). 

, . * n . a cut ^bree miles west of the station a white clay bed four to ten feet 
f L 1 ? ex . pose b tor a distance of 500 yards. A similar white clay bed eight 
teet thick is exposed one-quarter of a mile south of the Van Buren property, 
in the vicinity of Roberts Station, gray, micaceous, kaolinic sand of the 
over Cietaceous occurs resting unconformably upon decomposed crystalline 
rocks and overlain unconformably by sands and clays, in part fossiliferous, of 
Eocene age (Claiborne group). These Eocene beds have been traced 
southeastward, capping a Cretaceous ridge, to the cut one and one-quarter 
miles west of Griswoldville, above described.— (See p. 282 of this report.) 


Mr. J. It. \ an Buren is authority for the lithology as described in 
the following log of a well on the property of the J. B. Van Buren 
Company, one mile north of Griswoldville: 


Log of well one mile north of Griswoldville, Ga. 


Lower Cretaceous Feet. 

5. Sand, about...0 8 

4. White clay. ? 

3. Red clay. ? 

2. Sand, water-bearing, about.? 78 

1. White clay, about.*. 78 84 


Lower Cretaceous strata underlie practically all of Wilkinson 
County. Over a large part of the county, however, the Lower Cre¬ 
taceous beds are overlain unconformably by Eocene strata. Porters 
Creek, Commissioners Creek, and Oconee River have cut through the 
Eocene deposits, bringing the Lower Cretaceous to the surface along 
the sides and bottoms of their valleys. The Eocene beds reach a thick¬ 
ness of 135 feet or more on the intervening divides. 

The following data concerning occurrences of the formation in this 
county have been abstracted (not quoted) from Ye a toll’s clay re¬ 
port, pp. 159-172: 

On the property of J. W. Huckobee one mile west of Lewiston, near the 
Central of Georgia Railway, a white clay bed three to twelve feet in thickness 
has been mined to a limited extent. The clay is overlain by ten to twenty feet 
of sands and fossiliferous, siliceous beds resembling quartzite of Eocene age 
(Claiborne group). 

On the Z. T. Miller place, three miles south of Gordon, a 30-foot bed of 
white clay appears in a natural exposure. This bed which belongs to the Lower 
Cretaceous is overlain by tough, plastic, impure clays and red sands referable 
to the Eocene (Claiborne group). There are a number of other localities 
in the vicinitv of Gordon where similar white clays outcrop beneath sands 
and clays of 'the Claiborne group, the latter exceeding a thickness of 100 
feet in places.— (See detailed sections on pp. 276-277 of this report.) 

White clays occur at a number of localities in the vicinity of McIntyre. 
Three miles east of this place there are natural exposures of white clay, four 
to twelve feet thick, overlain by 30 to 50 feet of red sands and impure clavr, 
of the Claiborne group. 

a bed of semi-herd white clay reaching a maximum thickness of 30 feet 
outcrops on the Hatfield property one and one-half miles west of McIntyre, 







96 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIX 


on the south side of the Central of Georgia Railway track. The exposure 
occurs at the base of a ridge, the overlying strata consisting of Eocene (Clai¬ 
borne) sands and clays. 

Three miles northwest of McIntyre, on the property of Robert Billion, 
12 feet of soft, white and cream-colored kaolin outcrops in a deep gully, oppo¬ 
site the residence of William Snow, beneath 40 feet of Eocene sands and clays 
(Claiborne group). 

On the George Bentley property, two and one-half miles north of the 
159th mile post of the Central of Georgia Railway, 12 to 15 feet of white 
and cream-colored clay is exposed in a roadside gully. 

White clay beds occur in the region immediately to the north of Tooms- 
boro, and in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railw r ay at Beech Hill, four miles 
east of Toomsboro. 

Yeatcli furnishes the following unpublished note on occurrences 
of Lower Cretaceous clays in the vicinity of Irwinton: 

“Irwinton is situated on a high Tertiary ridge capped with red sand. 
The Cretaceous is exposed in the valleys 150 to 200 feet lower. 

“On the Tolar place, four miles south of Irwinton, and on Big Sandy 
Creek, hard white clay, 20 feet thick, is overlain by Tertiary clay. On the 
basis of this white clay bed the Cretaceous is mapped along Big Sandy 
Creek almost to Stephensville. 

“There is a suggestion that there is one continuous bed of white clay 
underlying a large area in Wilkinson and Twiggs counties. This clay bed. 
which is known to reach a thickness of 30 feet or more, has been observed at 
a number of localities to the north and w T est. It is characterized by its purity, 
freedom from any large amount of sand, absence of bedding or lamination, 
and absence pf anything that suggests marine conditions. With the possible 
exception of South Carolina, these heavy white clay beds have no counterpart 
in any other portion of the United States.” 

One-half mile west of Irwinton the following section of a well on 
the property of D. II. Howell was obtained, the authority for the 
lithology being the owner: 

Section of ivell located at foot of high hill. 


Lower Cretaceous. Feet. 

3. Clay .about 0 18 

2. Kaolin .about 18 53 

1. Layer of rock, water from beneath rock. 53 59 


At nearly all of the localities described on preceding pages the 
Lower Cretaceous sands and clays are overlain unconformably by 
sands and clays of Eocene age (Claiborne group). (See detailed 
sections of Eocene strata in Wilkinson County on pp. 276-27S of this 
report.) 

Locally the white, Lower Cretaceous clays of Wilkinson County 
have been altered to bauxite. The known bauxite occurrences have 
been studied by Otto Yeatch, and have been treated in some detail bv 
him in his clay report. (Appendix L). pp. 130-447.) The bauxite, 
so far as discovered, occurs at the top of the Lower Cretaceous terrane 





GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE VIII 



A. EXPOSURE ON RIGHT BANK OF CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT BROKEN 
ARROW BEND. TEN AND ONE-HALF MILES BELOW COLUMBUS, GA., 
SHOWING LAYERS OF NODULAR. CALCAREOUS CON¬ 
CRETIONS IN BASAL. MARINE BEDS OF 
THE ETJTAW FORMATION. 



B. 


'XPOSURE IN CUT OF STEAM MILL ROAD. SEVEN MILES EAST OF CO¬ 
LUMBUS, GA.. SHOWING PECULIAR SHORT. THICK LENSES OR SEG¬ 
REGATIONS OF WHITE SAND IN MATRIX OF GREENISH. 
FOSSILIFEROUS SAND NEAR BASE OF EUTAW FORMATION- 




































































































’ 









* 

. 







































































. 

' 






LOWER CRETACEOUS 


97 


immediately beneath its contact with overlying Eocene sands and 
clays. 

The principal localities where the ore has been found are in the 
vicinity of Toomsboro, Irwinton, McIntyre, Gordon, and Cooper 
Station. 

Portions of the southern and eastern parts of Baldwin County are 
underlain by Lower Cretaceous strata. The beds rest upon crystalline 
basement rocks and are overlain in a limited area in the vicinity of 
Stevens Pottery by overlapping Eocene beds. The best known occur¬ 
rences are at Stevens Pottery, eight and one-half miles south of Mil- 
ledgeville, where they are many good exposures. These show a great 
horizontal variation in the character of the materials. The following 
section describes the several strata as they appeared in the main pit 
east of the railroad at the time examined: 


Section in main pit at Stevens Pottery, Ga. 


Eocene. Feet. 

4. Red, argillaceous sand, mottled in places. 4 to 5 

(Unconformity.) 

3. Mottled pinkish and yellowish, argillaceous sand 

and sandy clay. 10 to 15 

2. Red, crossbedded, ferruginous sand containing 
along base a few quartz pebbles and white 

siliceous clay pebbles. 12 tD 15 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 


1. White, more or less sandy, massive clay, used prin¬ 

cipally in the manufacture of fire brick, sewer 

pipe, etc. 10 

In an abandoned pit on the west side of the railroad track the fol¬ 
lowing section was made: 

Section in abandoned pit, west side of railroad track, Stevens Pot¬ 
tery, Ga. 

Eocene. 

2. Coarse, yellowish and gray, arkosic, crossbedded sand, 

with boulders along base consisting of white clay 
pellets in a darker drab clay matrix. There are also 
along the base white, rounded, silicified clay peb¬ 
bles and some quartz, garnet and hornblende 

pebbles. 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1 Light to white, arkosic sands with lenses up to six 
or eight feet in thickness, of white clay, more or 
less sandy and micaceous. Locally, especially near 
base, there are irregular iron concretions .... 


Feet. 


8 


20 







98 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


About one-quarter mile south of the station at Stevens Pottery, on 
the west side of the railroad track, the Lower Cretaceous arkosic sands 
and white clays are seen to be overlain by markedly unconformable 
olive-green, harsh, siliceous, and probably calcareous clay, which is 
certainly referable to the Eocene (Claiborne). Along the base of this 
green clay are numerous pebbles of quartz, silicified clay, garnet, 
and hornblende, and small boulders of pisolitic clay. 

Veatch, in his clay report, has described the clays at Stevens Pot¬ 
tery from the standpoint of their economic value (pp. 172-174). 

A well drilled at this place passed through the Lower Cretaceous 
beds and entered the underlying basement crystallines at a depth of 
about 75 feet beneath the surface. The latter, consisting of a decom¬ 
posed granite rock, was penetrated to a depth of 175 feet. The 
authority for this data is W. C. Stevens, of Stevens Pottery, Ga. 

One and one-half miles a little south of east of Milledgeville, a 
few feet of coarse, cross-bedded, arkosic sand was observed in a road- 
cut on a hill slope, resting in a shallow depression in deeply decayed 
crystalline rocks which compose the body of the hill to its summit. 
The hill is about 125 feet high and the sand deposit is well down 
toward its base. This bed is believed to be a Lower Cretaceous rem¬ 
nant. Overlying the sand with apparent unconformity is a surficial 
covering, three or four feet thick, of coarse sands and gravels of un¬ 
certain age. 

Lower Cretaceous strata have a limited areal distribution in the 
western and northern parts of Washington County. They are over- 
lain by Eocene strata and would not appear at the surface were it 
not for the erosion which has produced the valleys of Oconee River, 
Buffalo Creek, and Ogeechee River. 

Veatch has noted a number of occurrences of the formation in this 
county. The following data has been adapted (not quoted) from his 
clay report, pp. 176-179, and from pp. 274-276 of the present report: 

Ten miles north of Oconee on the property of Mrs. S. M. Gilmore, 15 feet 
of white clay is overlain by 20 or 30 feet of red mottled sand. 

Six miles west of Sandersville, on the upper Milledgeville Road where it 
descends to Keg Creek, 16 feet of hard, massive, white fire-clay of Lower 
Cretaceous age is overlain unconformably by 125 feet of Eocene sands and 
clays. 

At the old Carter Mill site, five and one-half miles north of Sanders¬ 
ville, six feet of massive, white fire-clay outcrops beneath Eocene sands and 
clays; and one mile north of this mill there is an outcrop of 12 feet of mas¬ 
sive, white fire-clay showing similar relations to the Eocene sands and clays 
above. This clay bed is underlain by typical Lower Cretaceous sands. 

On the road to Hebron, seven miles southwest of Sandersville. four feet 
of white clay outcrops at the base of a hill beneath 90 feet of Eocene sands 
and clays. The same relations were observed in a cut two miles southwest 
of Chalker. 


LOWER CRETACEOUS 


99 


One mile south of Chalker on the public road, white and yellow sands 
referable to the Lower Cretaceous are overlain by 80 feet of Eocene sands 
and clays. 

Lower Cretaceous sediments are present over much of the southern 
half of Hancock County. The total thickness of the beds is not great 
since the basement rocks upon which they rest appear in the valley 
bottoms of many of the streams. In limited areas in the southeastern 
part of the county overlapping Eocene strata rest upon the Lower 
Cretaceous beds. 

The best exposures of the formation in Hancock County are in the 
first two cuts of the Georgia Railroad, a short distance southwest of 
Carrs Station. At several places the contact with the underlying 
basement rocks, which consist of deeply decayed granite and schist, is 
visible. The line of contact is very uneven, varying from below the 
level of the track to a maximum of 12 feet above that datum. The 
maximum thickness of materials exposed is 50 or 60 feet. The 
Lower Cretaceous materials consist of light-colored, coarse, cross- 
bedded, arkosic sands with interstratified lenses of light to white 
clays, the latter reaching a maximum thickness of 10 or 12 feet, and 
with clay boulders and clay balls scattered somewhat irregularly 
through the sands. The most prominent lens of white clay is at the 
north end of the first cut. This bed has a maximum thickness of 10 
or 12 feet, but is replaced by sand a short distance away laterally. 
Hear the base of this lens and about eight feet above the track level, 
a few, faint, indeterminable leaf impressions were observed in soft, 
mealy, laminated clay. This is the only known occurrence of leaf 
remains in this formation in Georgia. In the second cut there is a 
very conspicuous unconformity, 30 to 40 feet above the track level, 
probably local within the Lower Cretaceous strata. The materials 
above this unconformity consist of coarse, yellow, cross-bedded sands 
with gravelly layers near the base, the whole presenting a darker ap¬ 
pearance than those beneath. A similar unconformity may also be 
seen at one place in the first cut; here above the contact, in the base 
of the overlying darker sands there are large boulders of white clay. 
In both cuts a few feet of loose, gray, surfipial sands overlie the older 
materials. This locality has been described by Veatch in his clay 
report (pp. 204, 205, PL 13, Figs. 1 and 2). 

Lower Cretaceous strata underlie practically all of Glascock 
County, The formation is underlain by crystalline basement rocks 
which are exposed in stream beds at a few places in the northern part 
of the county, and also at one or two places near the center of the 
county. It is overlain over much of the area by beds of Eocene age. 

The following data relating to this county have been abstracted 


100 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


(not quoted) in part from Veatch’s clay report (pp. 180, 181), and 
in part from his unpublished notes. (See also pp. 273-274 of this 
report.) 

On the J. Newsome property, three miles east of Gibson, on the roadway 
leading from Deep Creek to the Newsome residence, is an outcrop of white 
clay or kaolin which has an overburden of some 75 feet of Eocene sand, clay, 
and limestone. Borings to determine the extent of the kaolin bed showed 
an average thickness of 23 feet in a linear distance of 200 yards. 

At Jumping Gully Creek on the Gibson-Mitchell road, one mile west of 
Gibson, ten feet of white clay underlies unconformably 23 feet of sand 
and clay of Eocene age. 

Four miles south of Gibson, at Tompkins Ford, Joes Creek, on the 
Grange Road, 15 feet of white, massive, semi-indurated clay occupies an 
unconformable position beneath about 50 feet of clay, sand, and quartzite 
of Eocene age. Beneath the white clay bed is a soft clay and sand con¬ 
glomerate. 

Twelve feet of white Lower Cretaceous clay occurs on the property 
of J. T. Brady, two miles south of Agricola, and ten feet of similar clay on 
Big Creek four miles southeast of Agricola. 

Exposures of granite rock occur on Joes Creek, two miles south of 
Beall Spring Station, and also two and one-half miles north of Mitchell. 

There are a few small areas in the western part of Jefferson County, 
on Ogeechee River and Rocky Comfort Creek, where Lower Creta¬ 
ceous strata probably appear at the surface, but detailed information 
is lacking. 

J. W. Stapleton, of Wrens, Ga., reports that in a well owned by 
him, located four miles northwest of Wrens, white clay was pene¬ 
trated from 38 to 48 feet beneath the surface. Water was obtained 
in white gravel and quicksand immediately beneath the clay. It is 
probable that the clay and the water-bearing materials immediately 
beneath the clay belong to the Lower Cretaceous. 

Prof. S. W. McCallie 1 has published the record of a well located 
three and one-half miles southwest of Louisville, having a depth of 
1,143 feet. Eocene beds were penetrated lo a depth of 350 feet. 
Basement rock, consisting of hard, diorite schist was penetrated in 
the lower three feet. The materials from 350 to 1,140 feet, con¬ 
sisting of sand, clay, and hard rock, are probably of Cretaceous age, 
but whether this whole thickness—790 feet—belongs to the Lower 
Cretaceous, or whether a part of the upper portion should he referred 
to the Upper Cretaceous can not he determined from the available 
data. Eo Upper Cretaceous strata are known at the surface nearer 
than Aiken County, S. C., on the one hand, and western Twiggs 
County, Ga., on the other, but it does not seem improbable that beds 
of this age exist in this intervening region, buried beneath the over¬ 
lapping Tertiary covering. 

Lower Cretaceous strata underlie portions of southern Warren 


HSeol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 15, 1908, pp. 128-131. 



LOWER CRETACEOUS 


101 


County. The beds rest unconformably upon the uneven surface of 
the basement crystalline rocks, which appear at the surface in all 
the stream valleys. The total thickness of the terrane within the 
county limits is not great. 

Light-colored sands and coarse gravels referable to the formation 
are well exposed in cuts of the Georgia Eailroad, three or four miles 
southwest of Warrenton. They rest unconformably upon deeply de¬ 
cayed crystalline rocks. 

Veatch, in unpublished notes, has described a supposed occurrence 
of the formation on the Georgia Railroad, three miles northwest of 
ETorwood. The materials consist of red, pebbly sand and loam, 15 
feet in thickness, resting upon deeply decayed, crystalline schist. 
The pebbles are for the most part subangular quartz up to three or 
four inches in diameter, with a small percentage well rounded. 
Cross-bedding was observed at one place. The deposit is believed to 
be an isolated remnant of Lower Cretaceous strata. Yeatch also notes 
a deposit of coarse sand and angular gravel probably belonging to 
this formation at Beall Spring, eight miles southwest of Warrenton. 

The Lower Cretaceous terrane is present over the greater part of 
McDuffie County south of the Georgia Railroad, and there are a few 
small areas extending north of the railroad. The beds rest upon 
crystalline basement rocks. In the southern part of the county the 
Lower Cretaceous strata are overlain in disconnected areas by Eocene 
sediments. Streams have cut through the beds at many places, reveal¬ 
ing the underlying crystalline rocks. 

Materials referable to the formation are noted by Veatch in his 
clay report (pp. 200-203, abstracted, not quoted), at the following 
places in this county: 

One mile east of Thomson on the Shields property a bed of white clay 
ten feet thick is reported. . ^ _ 

On the Brinkley plantation, three miles southwest of Dearmg, 16 feet of 
white kaolin blotched with purplish or pink iron stain, is reported to have 

been penetrated in a well. . . 

Three miles west of Bearing, on the Milledgeville public road, a bed of 
plastic, white clay occurs at a point locally known as “Chalk Hill”. About 
one-half mile west of this locality 30 feet of white clay is reported to have 
been penetrated in a well, the top of the clay bed having been encountered 
30 feet below the surface. A x . .. 

Exposures of Lower Cretaceous clay are numerous throughout the south¬ 
eastern part of the county along Boggy Gut, Headstall, and Brier Creeks. 
Especial note is made of such clays on the T. J. Connell and J. F. Whitaker 
properties, four and one-half miles south of Harlem. 

Veatch also furnishes the following unpublished notes: 

“At mile-post 34, near Boneville, the base of the Lower Cretaceous con¬ 
sists of coarse sand containing clay and sub-angular quartz gravel. Frag¬ 
ments of vein quartz as much as two feet long were observed. A biotit© 


102 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


granite is exposed in a small stream one-half mile east of this locality. 
The Lower Cretaceous strata at Boneville is not more than 40 feet thick, 
according to a well record. 

“On the property of Thomas Jefferson, two and one-half miles south¬ 
east of Dearing, eight feet of white and stained clay underlies unconform- 
ably 20 or 30 feet of laminated clay, probably of Eocene age.” 

Lower Cretaceous strata are present in the southern part of Co¬ 
lumbia County in limited areas in the vicinity of Harlem, Berzelia, 
and Grovetown. They rest unconformably upon crystalline basement 
rocks and are overlain in part by overlapping Eocene strata which in 
places transgress northward entirely across the Lower Cretaceous beds 
and rest upon the crystallines. 

There are good exposures of arkosic sands and white and purplish 
clays referable to this formation in cuts one to two miles east of the 
station at Grovetown. Although the contact does not appear in the 
railroad cuts, other exfiosures in the vicinity of Grovetown show the 
Lower Cretaceous strata to be overlain unconformably by fullers 
earth clay of Eocene age. This relation is well exhibited in what is 
known as Phinizy Gully, about one mile east of Grovetown, on the 
old abandoned Augusta to Wrightsboro wagon joad. The following 
sketch shows the profound character of the unconformity. 


w. e. 



Fig. 8. Sketch showing relation of Cretaceous and Eocene strata at Phinizy 
Gully, near Grovetown, Ga. 


Explanation of sketch. 

Eocene. Feet. 

3. Shaly fullers earth clay with fine sand partings. 

Contains leaf impressions and casts of pelecy- 

pods .. 12 to 15 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. Coarse, gray, argillaceous sandstone ........ 8 

1. Coarse, arkosic sand. 12 


The following references to Lower Cretaceous beds in this county 
are abstracted (not quoted) from Veatch’s clay report, pp. 196-200 : 

At the works of the Georgia Vitrified Brick & Clay Company, at Cam¬ 
pania, one and one-half miles east of Harlem, 12 feet of white clay is ex¬ 
posed in a pit 100 yards northeast of the plant. As shown by other pits 
nearby this clay is overlain by 25 feet or more of clay and sand referable to 
the Eocene, (Claiborne).— (See detailed section, p. 271 of this report.) 

In the old fullers earth pit on the Fiske property at Grovetown, 3 or 4 
feet of white clay makes up the base of the section. It is overlain by Eocene 
fullers earth.—(See p. 269 of this report.) 














LOWER CRETACEOUS 


103 


At Phillips Falls, one and one-half miles southwest of Harlem, ten feet 
of massive gray to bluish gray, hard clay is overlain by about 40 feet of 
Eocene sands and clays. The clay is underlain by Lower Cretaceous sand 
containing large chunks of kaolin and disseminated kaolin grains.—(See 
detailed section on p. 271 of this report.) 

In unpublished notes Veatch describes Lower Cretaceous beds at 
the following additional localities in this county: 

“One-half mile west of the section foreman’s house at Forest, eight to 
ten feet of arkose is exposed overlain by Eocene fullers earth. 

“Near the 17-mile post, two miles south of Grovetown, four or five feet 
of white clay presumably of Lower Cretaceous age is superimposed by red 
and yellow sands probably of Eocene age. 

“On the H. Merry place, four and one-half miles southwest of Berzelia, 
on Sandy Run Creek, ten feet or more of Lower Cretaceous clay and sand was 
observed beneath 90 feet of Eocene sands and clays.—(See detailed section 
p. 291 of this report.) 

At the lignite pit of the Georgia Lignite Mining Company, three miles 
south of Grovetown, coarse quartz sand containing white clay was encoun¬ 
tered at the bottom of a shaft beneath the lignite. The coarse sands are 
referred to the Lower Cretaceous, while the overlying lignites are believed 
to belong to Eocene.— (See detailed section, p. 270 of this report.) 

Coastal Plain deposits cover all of Richmond County except a small 
area in the extreme north. Lower Cretaceous strata outcrop in a belt 
several miles wide extending from Augusta and south of Augusta 
westward to the county line, and also farther south in the county 
along the valley of Spirit Creek. The formation rests unconformably 
upon crystalline rocks which outcrop in the northern part of the 
county. 1 The Lower Cretaceous beds pass to the southward beneath 
overlapping Eocene strata, the latter covering nearly all of the south¬ 
ern part of the county. There is also a long, narrow area of Eocene 
strata capping the ridge between Butlers and Spirit creeks, and ex¬ 
tending northwestward to Grovetown in Columbia County. 

The hills to the west and southwest of Augusta, with the exception 
of their surficial deposits of sandy clays, sands, and gravels, are made 
up of Lower Cretaceous beds. The materials consist of character¬ 
istic, coarse, arkosic, argillaceous sands with subordinate lenses of 
clay! The strata are for the most part concealed by coarse, surficial 
gravels and red sands which cover the tops and slopes of the hills. 
The age of the latter has not been satisfactorily determined, but they 
may be Eocene. In the cuts of the Georgia Railroad between Augusta 
and Grovetown there are numerous exposures of coarse, cross-hedded, 
arkosic sands, containing in places pellets and boulders of white clay 
and occasional lenses, which are referable to the Lower Cretaceous. 

A well, 144 feet deep, located on the property of R. T. Ulm, two 
miles north of Debruce, is said by the owner to have passed through 
sand to a depth of 140 feet, below which clay was penetrated to a 
depth of four feet. The section is probably all referable to the Lower 


104 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIH 


Cretaceous, although a small thickness of Eocene strata may compose 
the upper portion. 

The following data concerning the occurrence of the formation in 
this area have been abstracted (not quoted) from Veatch’s clay 
report, pp. 185-196, and from his unpublished notes: 

m the vicinity of Belair a small thickness of Lower Cretaceous strata 
is present. The beds rest upon the upturned edges of metamorphic schists. 
The materials consist of gray or white sands containing clay pellets with 
interbedded, thin, white clay layers. 

One and one-quarter miles east of Belair at the eight-mile post, a cut of 
the Georgia Railroad exhibits the following section: 

Section at the eight-mile post, Georgia Railroad, Richmond, 

County, Ga. 


Lower Cretaceous. Feet. 

3. Strongly crossbedded sand with soft, white clay 
pebbles one to two inches in diameter, and scat¬ 
tered quartz pebbles.. 7 to 10 

(Local unconformity.) 

2. White and stained clay. 0 to 4 

1. Gray and white, unconsolidated, arkosic sand . . 4 

Total. 18 


On fhe Milledgeville road, five and one-half miles northwest of Augusta, 
at a place known as “The Rocks” an indurated arkose is exposed. The rock 
is a gray, arkosic sandstone, resembling decomposed granite, its sedimentary 
character not being readily recognized. It is composed of angular quartz, 
muscovite mica, and kaolin, with small amounts of magnetite and rutile 
recognizable only under the microscope. Hard, opaline silica is the cement¬ 
ing agent. A thickness of 15 feet was observed. 

Section on the .east side of a small stream on the King estate, two 
and one-half miles south of Belair, and five miles southeast of Grove- 
town. (Clay report, p. 192.) 

Feet. 


5. Slope covered by a mantle of loose sand. 20 

4. Red and orange-colored loose sand. 40 

3. Semi-indurated, massive bedded, white clay ... 18 

2. Orange-colored sand, with pebbles and white clay 

layers. 30 

1. Sand to creek, character concealed. 50 


Layer No. 4 is referable to the Eocene (Claiborne group), and 
layers Nos. 1, 2, and 3 to the Lower Cretaceous. A similar section occurs 
about one-half mile below the preceding. 

On the old Blackstone place, one mile south of the 18-mile post on the 
Georgia Railroad, at a place known as O’Connor Hill, the following section 
occurs: 










b-CQ 

_ >— 1 

Ozo 

O wCd 
dggd 
Wdd 

gll3 

Hdd n 

o a ^ 

►h£> 

3h®K 

z^o 

m^ao 

§ B sl 

*od| 

dgw 

>W_. 

«o 

ffl 

H 


x/i 

^Z 

S^g 

d£H 

dgo 

W.^Z 

■ > a 
>!HD 
O d 

2d| 

Wi-i ra 

r^H 

dszz 

sj> 

l-l« 

ag‘ g 

?*”G a 


SSg 

o> 
oQ:s 
OK 
• HH 
HO 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. PLATE IX. 










































































































. 



























































' - 















































LOWER CRETACEOUS 


105 


Section on Blackstone 'place, O’Connor Hill, one mile south of 18 

milepost , Georgia Railroad. ' 


6. Limonite fragments in sand. 10 

5. Siliceous iron ore.. 2 to 4 

4. Gravel bed. 3 

Eocene (Claiborne group.) 

3. Fine red and yellow sand with thin clay layers . . 50 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. Massive white clay. 12 

1. Partly concealed, but consisting in part of white, 

micaceous, arkosic sand. 40 


A considerable thickness of hard, white, fire clay occurs along Sandy 
Run in the southwestern part of the county. 

At Hephzibah the Lower Cretaceous is well exhibited in a pit of the 
Aibion Kaolin Company. The section given below was made along the north 
side of the pit, but sections exposed in other parts of the diggings show the 
strata to be extremely variable in character horizontally. (See clav renort 
pp. 180 188.) 

Section on north side of pit of Albion Kaolin Company, 

Hephzibah, Ga. 


Eocene (Claiborne group). Feet. 

5. Bright red sand, estimated. 40 

4. Shaly sandstone containing fossil leaves. 4 

Lower Cretaceous. 

3. Semi-indurated, massive, white clay. 3 to 20 

2. Crossbedded, arkosic, micaceous sand with white 
clay particles and pellets, locally indurated to 

sandstone. 3 to 20 

1. Soft, white and cream-colored clay, reported thick¬ 
ness ... 9 


Total about . . 76 


Savannah River. — jSTo exposures of Lower Cretaceous strata occur 
in the immediate banks of the river at Augusta. However, a short 
distance northeast of the wagon bridge in Aiken County, S. C., the 
supposed base of the formation is seen, as described in the following 
section: 

Section a short distance northeast of the wagon bridge leading from 
Augusta to Old Hamburg, Aiken County, S. C. 


Lower Cretaceous. Feet. 

2. Heavy bed of pebbles and cobbles of quartz and 
crystalline rock, angular to smoothly-rounded, 

in a matrix of sandy clay. 4 to 8 

(Unconformity.) 

Basement rocks. 

1. Decayed schist, about i . 20 















106 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The base of the section is about 40 feet above zero water level of 
the river. 

The only place where the formation is exposed in the immediate 
bluffs of the river is at Sand Bar Ferry, about four miles below 
Augusta, in Aiken County, S. C. 

Section at Sand Bar Ferry, four miles below Augusta , Ga., in Aiken 


County, S. C. } left bank. 

Pleistocene? Feet. 

4. Yellow, mottled, argillaceous, coarse sand .... 6 

3. Medium to coarse, light gray and yellow mica¬ 
ceous, argillaceous sand with gravel lenses de¬ 
veloped in the lower 10 feet. 20 

(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. Coarse, arkosic, micaceous, argillaceous sand with 

small, white clay balls. 25 

1. Concealed to waters edge. 10 


The point at which the top of the Lower Cretaceous terrane passes 
beneath water level on the river can not be observed on account of the 
alluvial deposits through which the river flows below the last de¬ 
scribed bluff. 

Wells south of the belt of outcrop. —South of the belt of outcrop of 
the Lower Cretaceous strata several wells have been drilled through 
the overlying Eocene beds into the Lower Cretaceous beds beneath. 
Logs of three such wells have been published by Prof. S. W. McCallie 
and are repeated here. 

Log of well at Sandersville, Washington County, Ga., prepared from 
f samples furnished by C. E. Warthen. 


> Feet. 

12. White and dark clays with pyrite. at 35 

11. White, sandy limestone.“ 85 

10. Gray limestone, with fragments of shells.“ 103 

9. Dark clay..“ 160 

8. Yellow, coarse sand.“ 215 

7. White kaolin. “270 

6. Fine white sand.. . .. . “ 285 

5. Dark, pyritiferous sand ..“ 335 

4. White kaolin. “370 

3. Rather coarse brownish sand.“ 387 

2. White sand . “426 

1. Fine white sand.'.“ 436 


The upper four layers in the above described well at 35, 85, 103, 
and 160 feet, respectively, are believed to belong to the Eocene, and 
the remainder of the strata to the Lower Cretaceous. 


‘Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia, No. 15. 1908, p. 186. 


















LOWER CRETACEOUS 107 

Log of well at Tennille, Washington County, Ga., copied from the 
notes of the well contractor . 


25. 

24. 

23. 

22 . 

21 . 

20 . 

19. 

18. 

17. 

16. 

15, 


14. 

13. 

12 . 

11 . 

10 . 

9. 

8 . 

7. 

6 . 

5. 

4. 

3. 

2 . 

1 . 


White clay . 

Yellow sandy clay ..* * * 

White sand. 

Yellowish limestone, in the form of boulders 

Gray sand. 

White sand. 

White sandstone containing shells * *. 7 *. *. 

Bluish marl. 

Yellow clay . ’ 

Brownish colored sand, containing sharks’ teet 

and fragments of oyster shells. 

Blue marl. *' 

Quicksand . 

Blue marl.* 

White clay.* * * 

Blue clay. ’’’ ’ 

Blue and gray sands . 

Blue clay . 

Quicksand . . 


White “sticky’ 
Red clay . . 


stone occurs 


clay 



Feet. 

38 


52 

. 52 

80 


91 

.. 91 

96 


103 


130 


140 


185 


0.94 

:h 

. 194 

210 

. 210 

260 


270 


300 


310 

. 310 

350 

. 350 

360 


404 


436 


440 


470 

. 470 

500 


530 


550 

d- 


990 


The strata from the surface to a depth of 300 feet in the above de¬ 
scribed well probably'belong to the Eocene; the remainder of the beds 
are believed to be of Lower Cretaceous age. 


A portion of the log of an oil-prospecting well, three and one-half 
miles southwest of Louisville, Jefferson County, Ga., furnished by 
the contractor, Mr. James Tague. 


46. Sand . 

45. Red clay. 

44. Red and white clay . 

43. Red clay. 

42. Sand. 

41. White clay. 

40. Hard clay. 

39. Clay. 

38. Sand with gas . . . .• 
37. Sand with hard layers 

36. Mixed clay. 

35. Sand . 

34. Mixed clay. 

33. Sand . 


Feet. 



505 


510 


532 

. . 532 

562 


581 

. . 581 

583 

. . 583 

584 


588 

. . 588 

599 

. . 599 

661 


665 


704 


741 

. . 741 

751 


*Op. cit., pp. 187. 188. 









































108 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


32. 

31. 

30 . 

29. 

28. 

27. 


18. 

17. 

16. 

15. 

14. 

13. 

12 . 

11 . 

10 . 


4. 

3. 

2 . 

1 . 


Clay. 

Sand . 

Tough clay. 

Sand . 

Hard layer. 

Sand . 

Sandy clay. 

Sand.. . . 

Mixed clay . 

Sand . 

Mixed clays. 

Sand . 

Clay . 

White and yellow sand 

White clay. 

Sand . 

Shale. 

Clay. 

Sand . 

Clay. 

Hard layer. 

Blue clay. 

Sand . 

Clay. 

Sand . 

Shale. 

Sand . 

Clay. 

Clay and shale . . . . 
Very hard shale . . . 
Cemented gravel . . . 
Hard rock. 


. . 751 

759 

. . 759 

775 

. . 775 

783 

. . 783 

793 

. . 793 

798 


800 


843 

. . 843 

853 


870 


896 

. . 896 

913 

. . 913 

929 

. . 929 

948 

. . 948 

955 

. . 955 

965 

. . 965 

976 

. . 976 

979 


999 

. . 999 

1001 

. . 1001 

1006 

. . 1006 

1006 

. . 1006 

1027 

. . 1027 

1035 


1052 

. . 1052 

\ 1058 

. 1058 

1062 

. . 1062 

1068 


1088 

. . 1088 

1111 

. . 1111 

1113 

. . 1113 

1140 

. . 1140 

1143 


Fossils characteristic of the Claiborne group of the Eocene were 
■obtained from the preceding well at a depth of 250 feet. A fragment 
of a turtle plate, supposed to be referable to the Upper Cretaceous, 
was obtained at a depth of 380 feet. On the basis of these fossils 
the contact between the Cretaceous and Eocene is believed to be 
somewhere between the depths indicated, and it is here placed tenta¬ 
tively at 350 feet. Crystalline basement rocks were encountered at 
1,140 feet. The probable total thickness of Cretaceous strata pene¬ 
trated is, therefore, 790 feet. 

The data obtained from this well were insufficient to permit dis¬ 
tinguishing between Upper and Lower Cretaceous strata, but it is 
believed that beds of both ages are represented. Doubtless the lower 
500 or 600 feet of the Cretaceous portion of the section should be 
referred to the Lower Cretaceous and the remainder to the Upper 
Cretaceous, probably to the Ripley formation. 


CORRELATION 

The basal portion of the Cretaceous deposits of the Coastal Plain 
in the region included between Alabama Valley in Alabama and the 


































LOWER CRETACEOUS 


109 


Roanoke Valley, in North Carolina is composed of highly cross- 
bedded, arkosic sands, in general of coarse texture, with subordinate, 
inter-bedded layers and lenses of light-colored clays of greater or lesser 
purity, reaching an estimated maximum thickness of 500 or 600 feet. 
Ihese have been erroneously regarded as the eastward continuation 
of. ^ e 2 Tuscaloosa formation by the Alabama and Georgia geol¬ 
ogist. ’ . They have been designated the “Hamburg beds” by Earle 
Sloan in South Carolina, and the “Cape Fear” formation by the 
writer in North Carolina. 

In the Carolinas these beds are separated from the overlying Black 
Creek formation by an unconformity. Likewise an unconformity 
separates them from the overlying Eutaw formation in the Chatta¬ 
hoochee and Alabama river regions in Georgia and Alabama. 

In 1906 the exposures of these beds on Chattahoochee River below 
Columbus, Ga., were examined by the writer, and during subsequent 
years numerous localities in Alabama and Georgia were visited. Va¬ 
rious considerations, based upon physical evidence, led to the conclu¬ 
sions that the terrane was older than the Tuscaloosa formation; that 
it probably corresponded to the “Hamburg beds” of South Carolina^ 
and to the “Cape Fear” formation of North Carolina; and that it was 
probably of Lower Cretaceous age. Mr. E. W. Berry, who, in com¬ 
pany with the writer, later visited a number of the localities, con¬ 
curred in these views. 

The first and strongest argument in favor of this interpretation was 
the existence of a distinct unconformity separating the beds in ques¬ 
tion from the overlying Eutaw formation. This was noted unmistak¬ 
ably at the following places: McBride Ford on IJpatoi Creek, Chat¬ 
tahoochee County; at the Lumpkin road bridge over IJpatoi Creek 
a few miles above its mouth; on Chattahoochee River just below the 
mouth of Upatoi Creek; and at Broken Arrow Bend, nine miles below 
Columbus, Ga.; on the Seale road, four miles southwest of Columbus 
in Russell County, Ala., and on Alabama River, five miles above 
Montgomery, Ala. In addition to these the unconformity was ques¬ 
tionably noted at several places intermediate between those men¬ 
tioned. No such unconformity is known to exist between the true 
Tuscaloosa formation and the overlying Eutaw formation in central 
or western Alabama or in Mississippi. 

The beds differ from the true Tuscaloosa deposits in the presence 

mangdon, D. W., Variations in Cretaceous and Tertiary Strata of Alabama: Bull. 
Geol. Soc. America, vol. 2, 1890, pp. 587-606. 

2 Veatch, Otto, Second report on the clays of Georgia: Geol. Survey of Georgia, 
Bull. No. 18. 1909, pp. 82-106. 

3 Clays of South Carolina : South Carolina Geol. Survey, ser. 4. Bull. No. 1, 1904, 
pp. 72-75. 

4 Some facts relating to the Mesozoic deposits of the Coastal Plain of North Caro¬ 
lina : Johns Hopkins University Circular, new series, July, 1907, No. 7 (whole num¬ 
ber 199), pp. 93-99. 



no 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


of a large percentage of white kaolin grains in the sands, rendering 
them arkosic; in the massive character of the clay lenses, thus con¬ 
trasting with the laminated beds so common in the Tuscaloosa; and 
in the absence, except in rare instances, of fossil plant remains in the 
deposits. On the other hand, the beds strongly resemble the “Ham¬ 
burg beds” of South Carolina, and the “Cape Fear” formation of 
Forth Carolina, and this fact, together with the fact of apparent con¬ 
tinuity with the' Carolina deposits, led to the belief that they were 
synchronous with them. 

The a Cape Fear” formation is separated geographically from the 
Cretaceous deposits to the northward in Virginia by an overlap of 
Miocene beds. However, in all their physical characters they bear 
a close resemblance to the Patuxent formation which forms the basal 
division of the Potomac group in Virginia and Maryland. On ac¬ 
count of this physical similarity, and because of their supposed buried 
connection with the Virginia Patuxent, the application of the name 
Patuxent has been extended to include these Forth Carolina arkosic 
beds. 1 Were it not for certain biological evidence to the contrary it 
would seem proper to extend the application of the name still farther 
to the southward to include the apparently continuous deposits in 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Until recently no organic 
remains had been found in the beds in question south of the Virginia 
line. In the fall of 1910, the writer discovered a few poorly preserved 
plant remains in beds exposed in a bluff of Tallapoosa River at Old 
Fort Decatur, in Macon County, Ala. These have been submitted 
to Mr. E. W. Berry, who expresses the opinion that the beds con¬ 
taining them are of Lower Cretaceous age. 

The previous conclusions regarding the age of the beds below the 
Eutaw formation seem thus to be confirmed by the paleontologic evi¬ 
dence. Unfortunately, the poorly preserved condition of the leaves 
renders it difficult to determine satisfactorily the relation of the for¬ 
mation to the Patuxent formation of Virginia and Maryland. How¬ 
ever, in Mr. Berry’s opinion, the presence of large numbers of leaves, 
apparently dicotyledons, most of which are too poorly preserved to 
permit of specific or even of generic determination, seems to justify 
doubt as to their being so old as the Patuxent formation, in which 
similar questionably identified dicotyledons are very sparingly repre¬ 
sented. The following statement concerning the fossil remains of 
the Patuxent formation is quoted from a paper by Prof. Wm. B. 
Clark and Mr. Arthur Bibbins : 

X A report by the writer on the Cretaceous of North Carolina, now in press as a 
publication of the North Carolina Geological Survey. 

2 Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 13, 1902, p. 192. 



UPPER CRETACEOUS 


111 


™^ The fl01a °}} he Patuxent formation includes equiseta, ferns, cycads, 
conifers, monocotyledons, and a very few archaic dicotyledons, the coniferous 
^?„vS d f ean ® 1 . eme . nt bein S Particularly strong. The known fauna of the 
Patuxent formation is limited to a single unio (Ward) and a fish (Fontaine).” 

ohould future discoveries confirm this doubt the question would 
at once be raised as to the relation of these deposits to the “Cape 
Fear ? formation of jSTorth Carolina, to which the use of the name 
Patuxent has been extended. Should the relation be found to be that 
of synchroneity the inappropriateness of the name Patuxent for either 
the Carolina or the Georgia-Alabama deposits would at once be ap¬ 
parent. 

It may be stated here that although the “Cape Fear” beds appear 
to be continuous with the Lower Cretaceous beds of South Carolina, 
Georgia, and Alabama, it is quite possible that they are not actually 
continuous; for the irregular character of the bedding, the presence of 
numerous local unconformities within the beds, and the lack of ex¬ 
tensive exposures, render the detection of an important unconform¬ 
ity difficult—and such an unconformity may exist. 

An hypothesis suggested to the writer by Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan, 
which is v also worthy of consideration, is that the arkosic beds extend¬ 
ing from Maryland southward to Alabama were laid down along a 
coast margin which was gradually and continually depressed from 
the north to the south. In this case the deposits might actually be 
continuous and yet contain fossil plants at the southern end younger 
than those at the northern. 

UPPER CRETACEOUS 


EUTAW FORMATION 


NAME 

The name Eutaw group was proposed by Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard 1 
in 1860, for deposits in Mississippi which he described as: “Bluish 
black, or reddish, laminated clays, often lignitic, alternating with, 
and usually overlaid by, non-effervescent sand, mostly (though not 
always) poor in mica, and of a gray or yellow tint.” These con¬ 
stituted the basal portion of the Cretaceous deposits of the State, their 
lower limit being the surface of the Paleozoic rocks upon which they 
rested and their upper limit the base of the overlying Tombigbee sand 
group. 

Explaining the use of the term Eutaw he says: 2 “I adopt this 
name in view of these beds having been first examined and recognized 
as being of Cretaceous age by Tuomev, near Eutaw, Alabama, where 
they are characteristically developed.” 


Report on the geology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi, 1860, pp. 61-68. 

2 Op. cit., p. 61. 



112 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Tuomey’s account of the beds near Eutaw to which Hilgard re> 
ferred is recorded in the “First Biennial Report of the Geological 
Survey of Alabama,” 1850, pp. 118-120. 

Smith and Johnson, 1 in 1887, in their classification of the Ala¬ 
bama Cretaceous, adopted the name Eutaw, with, however, a modified 
meaning. According to their definition the base of the “rotten lime¬ 
stone” (Selma chalk) was made the upper limit of the formation, thus 
including the Alabama equivalents of Hilgard’s Tombigbee sand, 
while below the Eutaw they differentiated a formation consisting of 
at least 1,000 feet of “purple and mottled clays interstratified with 
white, yellowish white, pink, and light purple, micaceous sands, and 
near the base of the formation dark, gray, nearly black, thinly lami¬ 
nated clay with sand partings,” the Mississippi representatives of 
which Hilgard had included in his Eutaw group. For the latter they 
introduced the term Tuscaloosa formation. 

The classification of Smith and Johnson expresses the difference 
between a series of irregularly bedded sands and clays of probable 
estuarine and non-marine origin, or perhaps in part of shallow marine 
origin, the Tuscaloosa formation, and a series of superjacent sands 
and clays clearly of marine origin, the Eutaw formation. The basis* 
of this classification is regarded as the more logical and for this reason 
the nomenclature of the Alabama geologists is here used. The Tom¬ 
bigbee sand of Hilgard which thus becomes a part of the Eutaw for¬ 
mation, is roughly traceable eastward from Mississippi through Ala¬ 
bama, constituting the upper 150 or 200 feet of massive, more or less 
calcareous and phosphatic sands of the division, as distinguished from 
the more irregularly bedded sands and clays forming the lower 200 
or 300 feet of the formation. This upper more massive portion was 
recognized by Smith and Johnson and was spoken of by them as the 
“upper member of the Eutaw formation.” Although this so-called 
member can not be sharply differentiated from the less massive beds 
beneath it, it is eminently fitting that the original name applied to it 
in Mississippi should be perpetuated. It is therefore referred to in 
this report as the Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw formation. 

The Tuscaloosa formation, it is believed, is not represented in 
Georgia. 

The Eutaw formation is represented in Georgia by the beds which 
Langdon 2 referred to the Eutaw group and by about 120 feet of over- 
lying beds which formed the base of his “Ripley group,” but which 
are, on paleontologic grounds, here considered synchronous with the- 
Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw formation. 


mull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 43, 1887, pp. 71-138. 
2 Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 2, 1891, pp. 587-606. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GORGIA. 


PLATE X 



A. 


INDURATED LAYER OF FOSSILIFEROUS, MARINE SAND OF THE EUTAW 
FORMATION, IN BED OF OCHILLEE CREEK, AT OCHILLEE, 
CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY. GA. 



B. EXPOSURE IN CUT OF COLUMBUS-LUMPKIN ROAD, THIRTEEN MILES 
SOUTH OF COLUMBUS. GA., IN CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY, SHOWING 
UNCONSOLIDATED SAND OF THE EUTAW FORMATION. 













* 








































EUTAW FORMATION 


113 


DEFINITION 

.4reaZ distribution .—The Eutaw formation is exposed in the bluffs 
°i Chattahoochee River from a point a short distance below the mouth 
o Upatoi Creek, nine miles below Columbus, in Chattahoochee 
County, Ga., to a point two or three miles below the Seaboard Air 
Line Kailway bridge at Omaha, in Kussell County, Ala. Disregard- 
mg the irregularities of the stream’s course, the formation has a 
north-south width of about 10 miles where it intercepts the river. To 
the northeastward away from the river the area becomes narrower, 
finally disappearing in Taylor County. It includes parts of Stewart, 
Chattahoochee, Marion, and Taylor counties (see map, opp. p. 58.) 
The foimation outcrops in a belt having an average width of eight or 
ten miles extending from Chattahoochee River westward through Ala¬ 
bama and northward through Mississippi to the vicinity of the 
Tennessee State line. 

Stratigraphic position. —The formation in Georgia rests uncon- 
formably upon beds of Lower Cretaceous age. The unconformity sep¬ 
arating the two terranes is of considerable importance, for if the 
correlations indicated in this report are correct, the time interval rep¬ 
resented by this unconformity in Georgia must be as long as the time 
required for the deposition of the Tuscaloosa formation and prob¬ 
ably also a part of Lower Cretaceous time. To the west of Alabama 
River in Alabama, the underlying Lower Cretaceous strata disappear 
beneath the Tuscaloosa formation, the latter resting directly upon 
the basement rocks. 

The Eutaw formation in Georgia is overlain by the Ripley forma¬ 
tion. In limited areas bordering Chattahoochee River and Upatoi 
Creek the formation is overlain unconformably by thin Pleistocene 
terrace deposits. 

Lithologic characters. —Considerable variation has been noted in 
the character of the materials of this formation, both vertically and 
horizontally. In the immediate Chattahoochee region they are in the 
main of marine origin, though a part of them was obviously laid 
down in very shallow marine waters, and some may even have orig¬ 
inated in estuaries or sounds. 

East of the river in the northeastern part of Chattahoochee County, 
in Marion County, and in Taylor County, the formation as a whole 
becomes much coarser and more irregularly bedded, and doubt¬ 
less originated in shallow water, near shore, or even in sounds and 
estuaries. Thin beds of well-rounded pebbles have been observed in 
the formation at a few places in Georgia and also west of the river in 
Alabama. The upper marine portion of the formation which in this 


114 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


report is referred to the Tombigbee sand member of the formation 
maintains its massive marine character to and beyond the Seaboard 
Air Line Railway northeast of Cusseta in Chattahoochee County. 
Still farther to the northeast in Marion County this division appears 
to give way to irregularly bedded sands and clays of shallow 7 water 
origin. 

In the region of Chattahoochee River the immediate base of the 
formation consists of a few feet of coarse, arkosic, micaceous sands 
bearing a rather close resemblance to the sands of the underlying 
Lower Cretaceous beds. Interbedded with these are subordinate 
lenses of drab to black, laminated, clay, bearing leaf remains in places. 
Scattered through these sands are considerable quantities of lignite 
in the form of comminuted particles, twigs, branches, and logs. 

Immediately above the preceding occur 50 feet or more of medium 
to fine, gray to dark gray, more or less micaceous and calcareous sands 
and clays, indurated in some layers to a nodular, impure limestone. 
These materials are fossiliferous, and in places contain large numbers 
of shells and shell prints. The materials and the character of the 
entombed organisms prove this portion of the formation to be of ma¬ 
rine origin. 

The bluffs along Euchee Rapids, Chattahoochee River, reveal 40 
feet or more of greenish gray, compact, marine clay, which lies closely 
above the preceding. This is followed by dark, laminated clays with 
thin, interbedded sand layers, examples of which may be seen in a 
bluff a short distance above the mouth of Euchee Creek. Coarse and 
fine sands locally indurated to ferruginous sandstone, all of shallow- 
water origin, are poorly exposed at Moores, Betons, and Codvs rocks, 
between Euchee Creek and Chimney Bluff. These shallow-water beds 
are terminated upward by dark, lignitic clays and light to white, un¬ 
consolidated sands, which are well exposed at the base of Chimney 
Bluff. The clays at the latter place contain poorly preserved leaf re¬ 
mains. These beds are overlain conformably by the Tombigbee sand 
member, a description of which follows: 

The irregularly bedded sands and clays just described are succeeded 
by massive marine beds having an estimated thickness of 120 feet, 
which were included by Langdon in the basal portion of his Ripley 
group, and formed a part of the “Bluff town marl” of Veatch. They 
are here referred, on paleontologic grounds, to the Tombigbee sand 
member of the Eutaw formation. The materials consist of gray or 
greenish gray, calcareous, more or less argillaceous sands with some 
interbedded layers of gray, calcareous, sandy clay. At vertical inter¬ 
vals of several feet the sands are indurated to impure, sandy lime¬ 
stones and calcareous sandstones, which by their greater resistance to 


EUTAW FORMATION 


115 


erosion form nodular projecting ledges along the faces of the bluffs. 
(See PL VIII.) The materials are more or less glauconitic and calca¬ 
reous, and iron pyrites is fairly common. Fossil shells occur through¬ 
out the beds and certain layers contain them in sufficient abundance 
to form shell marls. The beds appear along the river in various 
exposures from Chimney Bluff to a point two miles below Omaha. 

Strike , dip, and thickness. —On the Georgia side of Chattahoochee 
River, the beds of this formation strike approximately northeast and 
southwest. On the Alabama side the strike is nearly due east and 

west. 

It has not been possible to obtain reliable dip measurements of that 
portion of the formation lying beneath the Tombigbee member of the 
formation, principally because of the irregularity of the bedding and 
because the exposures are not sufficiently extensive to show this fea¬ 
ture. However, as is true of nearly all Atlantic and Gulf Coastal 
Plain formations, the amount of dip is relatively small. It is prob¬ 
able that the inclination of the beds is less than the general inclina¬ 
tion of the unconformable surface of the underlying Lower Creta¬ 
ceous deposits upon which the Eutaw formation rests. This uncon¬ 
formable surface, based upon calculations from well data, has an esti¬ 
mated dip of about 48 or 50 feet to the mile. The Tombigbee member 
of the formation is regularly bedded and exposures are continuous for 
considerable stretches along the river bluffs. In places indurated 
layers may be traced for distances of a mile or more. In general 
these dip down stream, but there are minor undulations and for short 
distances the dip may even be reversed. On account of these undula¬ 
tions it is not possible to determine the dip with accuracy, but it is 
believed Langdon’s estimate, 20 feet to the mile, approximates the 
correct amount for the beds of this member in the immediate Chatta¬ 
hoochee region. 

That portion of the Chattahoochee section here referred to the 
Eutaw formation was estimated by Langdon to be 465 feet thick, 845 
feet being the figure given for his Eutaw group, which included the 
beds subjacent to the Tombigbee sand, and 120 feet for the overlying 
Tombigbee sand. The latter figure is probably approximately correct, 
but the former amout—345 feet—is known to be underestimated. A 
well at a landing on Chattahoochee River, two and one-half or three 
miles below the mouth of Euchee Creek, in Russell County, Ala., pene¬ 
trated 362 feet of Eutaw strata before entering the underlying Lower 
Cretaceous beds. (See section p. 121 of this report.) Calculations 
based on the thickness shown in this well, and the width of outcrop on 
the river, give a total thickness of 435 or 440 feet for Langdon’s 


116 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“Eutaw group,” where it passes beneath the overlying Tombigbee sand 
member. This would give a total thickness for the formation, includ¬ 
ing the Tombigbee sand, of 555 or 560 feet. 

Little is known of the thickness of the formation to the northeast¬ 
ward in Georgia, but it is believed that it gradually becomes thinner 
and at the eastern limit of its surface occurrence finally pinches out 
against the underlying older Cretaceous beds. 

Physiographic expression .—The general upland surface of the belt 
of country in which this formation outcrops is a greatly dissected 
plain lying 450 to 500 feet above sea level. The weathering and leach¬ 
ing of the sand beds of the formation have produced a surficial cov¬ 
ering of loose, gray sand varying in thickness from a few inches to 
eight or ten feet, which mantles the tops and slopes, giving to much 
of the country a “sand hill” aspect. In this respect the region re¬ 
sembles that previously described in which the Lower Cretaceous 
strata come to the surface. The surface relief reaches a maximum of 
300 feet. The broken hilly aspect which characterizes the region in 
general has been modified by Pleistocene terracing processes in small 
areas bordering Chattahoochee River. 

Paleontologic characters .—Marine invertebrate fossils are numer¬ 
ous in the lower 100 feet of the formation. Hear the immediate base 
these are preserved as shells, shell prints, and internal casts. In beds 
somewhat higher they appear only as casts and prints. In the next 
300 feet or more invertebrate fossils are rare, but a few soft prints 
of shells have been observed. 

In the massive, marine sands and clays forming the upper 120 feet 
of the formation (Tombigbee sand member) invertebrate fossils are 
plentiful both as shells and as prints and casts. 

Vertebrate animals are represented, so far as known, by the re¬ 
mains of sharks only. The teeth of these fishes are present in places 
in the massive, marine beds near the base, and in the Tombigbee sand 
member at the top of the formation. 

The remains of plants are fairly abundant in certain parts of the 
terrane. Leaves have been collected at two localities from the n6n- 
marine beds at the immediate base of the division, and also from the 
irregularly bedded sands and clays forming the base of the section 
at Chimney Bluff immediately beneath the beds of the Tombigbee 
sand member. Lignite is present at various horizons, as a rule in 
the form of small, widely scattered pieces. It is fairly abundant, 
however, in the basal leaf-bearing beds, and is very abundant in the 
leaf-bearing beds at Chimney Bluff. 


EUTAW FORMATION 117 

tJzone T™ Sbee mem , W ° f the Nation fonns the lower part of 

half of the Kinl™ f 0nder . osa ’ of which the lower one-third or one- 
nai± of the Ripley formation forms the upper part. 

detailed SECTIONS. (part oe formation relow the tombigree 

SAND MEMBER.) 

£ m“arr 0f this part of the formation ap- 
aThort ? f ff f f Chattahoochee River at intervals, from a point 
a short distance below the mouth of Upatoi Creek, nine miles below 
Columbus Ga., to Big Bend, 24% miles below Columbus. The speci- 
tied localities are indicated m a sketch map of the river, Fig 6 The 
exposure below the month of Upatoi Creek has already been described 
and the unconformable relation of the Lower Cretaceous strata to the 
overly, ngEutaw formation indicated. (See section and sketch on 
p. W.) Eutaw materials consist of dark gray, finely arenaceous 

nd micaceous, calcareous clay, with occasional grains of glauconite, 
lhe clay contains scattered lime concretions and there are a few im- 
periect shell impressions and an occasional piece of lignite. 

On the right bank at Broken Arrow Bend, 10% miles below Co¬ 
lumbus, there is an exposure, a section of which is given below. (See 
plate VIII, A.) o v 

Section at Broken Arrow Bend, Chattahoochee River, right hank. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). 

2. Concealed by vegetation, except along the base, 

where a band of pebbles appears. 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. 

1. Dark gray, calcareous, micaceous, finely arenaceous 
clay, with layers of lime concretions in nodular- 
form, one to two and one-half feet apart in 
upper eight feet. Fossiliferous. 


Feet. 


10 


13 


At this point the Lower Cretaceous strata do not appear above water 
level. Fossils were collected and the following determined: 




118 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Chattahoochee River, Broken Arrow Bend, Alabama side , IOI /2 
miles below Columbus, Ga., in Russell County. T. W. Stanton and 
L. W. Stephenson, collectors. 



Locality Numbers. 


T.W.S. 

L. W.S. 

L.W.S. 


847 

5384 

6409 

Mollusca: 




Perna sp. nov . 

X 

X 

X 

Ostrea cretacea Morton . 

X 

X 

X 

Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson. 

X 

X 

X 

Pecten sp . 

Anomia sp. nov. (Same as sp. nov. from Snow 


X 

- 

Hill, N. C.) . 


X 

X 

Cardium sp . 

X 

X 


Cyprimeria sp. 


X 

X 

Baroda sp. nov. 

X 

X 

X 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 

X 

X 


Pelecypod casts, undetermined . . . .. 


X 

' 

Turritella sp. . 


X 


Placenticeras sp. (cf. P. guadalupae Roemer) . 


X 

X 

Gastropods casts, undetermined.. . 


X 


Vertebrata : 




Lamna texana Roemer .. 


X 

X 

Otodus appendiculatus Agassiz. 


X 



A short distance below the preceding on the opposite side of the 
river, a good exposure occurs for several hundred yards along the base 
of a bluff 140 or 150 feet high. The Lower Cretaceous beds appear 
here for the last time, as one descends the river, being overlain un- 
conformably by the beds of the Eutaw formation. The details of the 
section are as follows: 

Section at Broken Arrow Bend, Chattahoochee River, left bank, 10y 2 

miles below Columbus, Ga. 

Upper 110 or 120 feet of slope concealed by vegetation. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Eutaw formation. 

3. Slightly laminated, gray, calcareous, micaceous, sand 
with impure lime nodules in layers two to three 
feet apart. Contains same fauna as the preceding 
locality.. • • 15 

2. Coarse, crossbedded sand, and laminated clay, in part 
reworked from underlying Lower Cretaceous beds 
containing pieces of petrified wood, large logs and 
smaller pieces of lignite; fossil leaves were found 
in a lens of black clay eight inches thick, several 
feet above water level. The sand is gray or stained 
with iron and the clay is gray to black. These 
materials grade up conformably into the overlying 
materials.2 to 13 




























EUTAW FORMATION 


119 


(Unconformity.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Characteristic gray sands and clays.0 to 5 

E. W. Berry 1 furnishes the following list of plant species collected 
from Layer No. 2 in the above section: 

Malapoenna horrellensis Berry 
Phragmites pratti Berry 
Salix eutawensis Berry 
Salix flexuosa Newb. 

Sequoia reichenbachi (Gein.) Heer 

Down the river from the preceding locality the layers of concretions 
in the Eutaw formation dip gently southward, and at one-half mile 
below Broken Arrow Bend reach water level. At this point the fol¬ 
lowing fossils were collected: 

Locality No. 5386. — One-half mile below Broken Arroiv Bend , 10 
miles below Columbus, Ga. 

Mollusca: 

Perna sp. nov. 

Ostrea cretacea Mort? (cf. sp. nov. from House Bluff, Alabama River.) 
Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

Yertebrata: 

Otodus appendiculatus Agassiz? 

Before reaching Euchee Bapids, the upper end of which is about 
13 miles below Columbus, the layers of lime nodules have passed be¬ 
neath water level and, as shown by dredgings, they form the bed of 
the river at the upper end of the rapids and are the cause of the shoal 
water at that point. 

A number of interesting exposures occur along the course of Euchee 
Kapids, on the right bank. Burdock Landing is one-half to three- 
quarters of a mile below the upper end of the rapids. The section 
exposed near the landing is as follows: 

Section near Burdock Landing, Euchee Rapids, Chattahoochee River, 

right bank. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) Feet. 

2. Yellowish sandy clay with band of gravel at base . 10 to 12 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. „ 

1. Greenish, somewhat laminated clay with fine sand 

partings, about.12 to 30 

A short distance below the landing the following fossils were col¬ 
lected near the base of the bluff in Eutaw materials: 

^Contributions to the Mesozoic flora of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, VI, Georgia: 
Bull. Torrey Botan. Club, No. 37, 1910, pp. 504. 





120 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Chattahoochee River, Burdock Landing, 13 or 11/. miles below Co¬ 
lumbus, Ga. T. W. Stanton and L. W. Stephenson, collectors. (All 
casts in clay.) 



Locality Numbers 


T.WS. 

848 

L. W. S. 
5386 

Mollusca: 

Leda? . 


X 

Breviarca sp. 

X 


Perna sp. nov. 

X 


Ostrea cretacea Morton? (cf sp. nov. from House Bluff, 
Alabama River). 


X 

Ostrea sp. nov. ? (aff. 0. lugubris Conrad).] 

1 x 


Pecten sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, 
N. C.). 


X 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, 
N. C.)... 


X 

Lucina sp. 

X 


Cardium sp... 

X 

X 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad. 

X 

X 

Baroda sp. nov. 

X 

X 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad). 


X 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad.. 

X 

X 

Undetermined gastropod casts. 

X 

X 


Slick Bluff begins about one-half mile below Burdock Landing and 
extends interruptedly for some distance along the right bank. (See 
plate IX, A.) The mass of the materials consist of greenish 
gray, compact clay, laminated in places. Ac some time in their his¬ 
tory the clays have become fractured and the crevices thus formed 
filled with sand. The sand has become indurated and now appears 
as fine, white to light gray sandstone, forming dike-like masses in the 
clay. (See plate IX, B.) These have-been described at some length 
and illustrated by Prof. S. W. McCallie. 1 Occasional casts of fossils 
are seen in the sandstone. The Eutaw clays appear to have been 
disturbed again in comparatively recent times, perhaps at some time 
during the Pleistocene or even the Recent epoch. This disturbance 
is evidenced by the fact that the bedding plains in the clay vary as 
much as 15 or 20 degrees from the horizontal, appearing at diverse 
angles at the different exposures along the bluff, and at several places 
‘poorly exposed fault plains were observed. In the woods back from 
the bluff for about one hundred yards, the surface presents sharp- 
crested ridges running parallel with the river bank, and in places the 
depressions between the ridges are undrained and hold stagnant pools 
of water. Some of the older and larger trees stand v out of plumb. 
This topography is believed to have been produced by a series of land 


U^m. Geol., vol. 32, October. 1903, pp. 199-202. 


























GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XI. 



A. BLUFF BELOW BANKS LANDING, CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER, 
TWENTY-SIX AND ONE-HALF MILES BELOW COLUMBUS, GA., 
LEFT BANK, SHOWING GRAY, CALCAREOUS SAND AND 
SANDY CLAY. WITH INDURATED LAYERS, BELONGING 
TO THE TOMBIGBEE SAND MEMBER OF THE 
EUTAW FORMATION 



B BLUFF AT SNAKE SHOALS, CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER, THIRTY 
MILES BELOW COLUMBUS. GA., RIvjHT BANK. SHOWING GRAY, 
CALCAREOUS SANDS WITH ONE INDURATED LAYER. BE¬ 
LONGING TO THE TOMBIGBEE SAND MEMBER OF THE 
EUTAW FORMATION, OVERLAIN BY PLEISTOCENE 

DEPOSITS. 












































I 









































































































■ 






























































































' 

' fl . 













































































































EUTAW FORMATION 


121 


s ides, the land slipping in sections, and at the same time becoming 
tilted. Several large masses of earth appear in the river as small 
is anas, being apparently the remnants of masses which have slipped 
into the river at some time in the past. 

In a chunk of clay, not in place, the following fossils in the form 
of casts were collected: 

Chattahoochee River, Euchee Rapids, Slick Bluff, about ny 2 miles 
below Columbus, Ca., right bank. 

Mollusca: 

Nucula sp. Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 

Breviarca sp. Baroda sp. nov. 

Ostrea sp. nov.? (aff. O. lugubris Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Conrad.) Undetermined pelecypod casts 

Cardium sp. Undetermined gastropod casts 

About 200 yards above tbe mouth of Euchee Creek the following 
section is exposed: 

Section about 200 yards above mouth of Euchee Creek, Chattahoochee 

River, right bank . 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) Feet. 

2. Sandy clay, grading down into sand, with a band 

of gravel along base. 10 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. 

1. Dark gray laminated clay with seams and thin lay¬ 
ers of white sand stained yellow in places with 
sulphur, and seams of finely comminuted lig- 
nitic matter. 25 

At Moores Rocks, 18 miles below Columbus, left bank, there are 
masses of coarse, ferruginous sandstone containing poorly preserved 
pelecypod casts in places. 

At Betons Bocks, 19 miles below Columbus, masses of very coarse, 
in places pebbly, ferruginous sandstone appear in the bed and banks 
of the river. 

A mass similar to the preceding appears at Codys Rock, 20 1 / 4 miles 
below Columbus. 

At a landing two and one-half or three miles below the mouth of 
Euchee Creek, right bank, in Russell County, Alabama, there is a 
flowing artesian well. This well has been described by Prof. Eugene 
A. Smith 1 as follows: 

“W. J. McLendon’s well, near Chattahoochee River; depth, 465 feet. 
Record: Sand and clay, 20 feet; marl with shell, 65 feet; beds of sand and 


ir The Underground Water Resources of Alabama. Geol. Surv. of Alabama, Mont¬ 
gomery, 1907, p. 234. 






122 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


marl, 15 to 25 feet thick, alternating, to 380 feet; hard rock, 2 feet; sand to 
445 feet. Water at this point flowed 12 gallons per minute, but has decreased 
to four gallons. Well lowered 20 feet into sand to hard rock.” 

This well is located on the lowest Pleistocene terrace bordering the 
river. The mouth of the well is about 40 feet above zero water level. 
The first 20 feet of materials penetrated are Pleistocene terrace de¬ 
posits ; the materials from 20 to 382 feet probably belong to the Eutaw 
formation; and those from 382 to 465 feet probably belong to the 
Lower Cretaceous. This well, therefore, penetrates 362 feet of Eutaw 
beds at this point. 

The next prominent exposure of Eutaw strata is at Chimney Bluff, 
22 miles below Columbus. The section exhibited here at the time 
visited is as follows: 

Section at Chimney Bluff, Chattahoochee River, left hank, about 100 
yards up stream from the high, prominent part of the bluff. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. Feet. 

(Tombigbee sand member). 

4. Greenish yellow, finely arenaceous, weathered, 

marine clay. 6 

3. Dark gray, massive, argillaceous, fine, marine 
sand, showing some sulphur stain on surface. 

In this was recognized casts of Inoceramus sp., 
Crassatellites sp., and Cyprimeria depressa Con¬ 
rad . 12 


(Part of formation below the Tombigbee sand mem¬ 
ber.) 

2. Fine, light gray to almost white, loose, finely 
cross-bedded, micaceous sand, with occasional 

ciay films. 15 

1. More or less irregularly bedded, dark, laminated, 
lignite clay and loose, micaceous sand. In 
places there are lenses of extremely black 
micaceous sand, and at other places lenses of 
slate-colored, extremely micaceous sand. Lig¬ 
nite is present in great abundance in all forms, 
from comminuted particles up to large logs. 

Poorly preserved fossil leaves, representing sev¬ 
eral species are present in abundance in some 
of the clay lenses. 20 

Layers ISTos. 3 and 4 of the preceding section are referred to the 
Tombigbee member of the Eutaw formation. 

Down stream towards the high part of the bluff the white sand 
layer described in the preceding section becomes obscured by landslide 
material and vegetation, and in the high bluff proper it appears to be 
represented by lenses of greenish gray, sandy clay and subordinate 
lenses of dark to black clay. Above the clay in this high part of the 
bluff are 40 to 50 feet of yellowish, sandy, marine clay apparently 






EUTAW FORMATION 


123 


weathered from darker marine materials which belong to the Tombig- 
bee member of the formation. 

E. W. Berry 1 has recognized from layer ISTo. 1 of the above section 
the plant species listed below: 

Araucaria bladenensis Berry. 

Araucaria bladenensis Berry 

Ficus crassipes Heer 

Ficus Krausiana (Authority ?) 

Salix flexuosa Newb. 

Salix Lesquereuxii Berry 
Sequoia Reichenbachi (Gein.) Heer 

On the left hank at the Bacepasses, about 23% miles below Co¬ 
lumbus, the following section is exposed: 

Section at the Racepasses, Chattahoochee River, left bank , about 2h 
miles below Columbus . 


Feet. 


14 


12 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. 

(Tombigbee sand member.) 

2. Dark greenish gray, compact, sandy clay, contain¬ 
ing casts of pelecypods, Pecten burlingtonensis 
Gabb recognized. 

(Part of formation below the Tombigbee sand mem¬ 
ber. ) 

1 Laminated, crossbedded, lignitic sands and clays 
similar to lower 20 feet of the section of Chim¬ 
ney Bluff. 

At Big Bend, 24% miles below Columbus, Ga., right bank, Eutaw 
strata consisting of irregularly bedded, dark to black, laminated clays 
and white, crossbedded sands make up the lower 12 to 15 feet of the 
bluff These are overlain conformably by several feet of gray, ma¬ 
rine sands with fossils referable to the Tombigbee member of the for¬ 
mation. (See list of fossils, p. 108 of this report.) Pleistocene ter¬ 
race materials make up the upper part of the bluff above the fossili- 
ferous, gray sands. 

Eeqion between Chattahoochee and Flint rivers.— Good exposures 
of that part of the formation beneath the Tombigbee sand member 
occur to the east of Chattahoochee River m Muscogee and Chatta¬ 
hoochee counties. In the former county the formation is present m 
an area several miles in width, running east and west m the southern 
part of Muscogee County, where it forms the upper 100 to 14 

cf-ratn l'n the hills lying to the north of Upatoi Creek. 

The best exposure of the formation observed in the county is on 
the Ousseta Road, where it passes up the scarp from the first or lowest 

^Contributions to tbe^e-olc aora of the AUanUc Coastal Platn-VI, Georgia: 
Bull. Torrey Botan. Club No. 61, tutu, yy. 




124 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Pleistocene terrace plain, one and one-half miles southeast of Bull 
Creek, to the top of the upland one-half mile farther to the southeast. 
(See topographic map of Columbus Quadrangle.) The section ex¬ 
posed along this road for a distance of about one-half mile is as 
follows: 

Section along Cusseta Road, one and one-half to two miles southeast 
of Bull Creek, Columbus Quadrangle, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Eutaw formation? 

11. Red, stratified, argillaceous sand. 10 

10. Interstratified red sand and light, harsh clay lay¬ 
ers with a line of pebbles and cobbles along 

base.' . 8 

Eutaw formation. 

9. Fine, light, argillaceous sand (weathered) .... 6 

8. Laminated, fine sand and clay with iron crusts, 

mostly brown in color, due to weathering ... 7 

7. Mottled, marine sand and clay (weathered) ... 10 

6. Greenish, drab, finely arenaceous, marine clay . . 10 

5. Fine, white, marine sand mere or less streaked 

with red and yellow due to weathering .... 10 

4. Mottled, argillaceous, marine sand, (much-weath¬ 
ered) . 17 

3. Greenish gray, argillaceous, marine sand .... 27 

2. Coarse, crossbedded sand with kaolin grains and 

irregularly distributed clay balls. 15 

(Unconformity, somewhat obscured by weather¬ 
ing.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Medium coarse, crossbedded sand, arkosic in part 20 


Another interesting exposure of the formation in which its relations 
to the underlying Lower Cretaceous division is exhibited occurs on 
the Steam Mill Road, seven miles a little south of east of Columbus. 
This road is the first road south of the Buena Vista road. (See Co¬ 
lumbus Quadrangle.) 

% 

Section , Steam Mill Road, seven miles a little south of east of Colum¬ 
buson westward facing slope of Tiger Creek Valley. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. In. 

Eutaw formation. 

5. Dark red, weathered, finely arenaceous clay with 

numerous plate-like iron concretions. 4 

4. Light greenish gray, fine, compact, micaceous, 
somewhat argillaceous rand containing fossil 
prints, with numerous, irregular, proportion¬ 
ately short and thick lenses, or segregations of 
compact, white, slightly micaceous sand, the lat¬ 
ter partially surrounded on their under surfaces 
with layers or films of dark, drab clay. Shell 
prints occur rarely in the white sand lenses, 
. about 10 







EUTAW FORMATION 


125 


3. Band of fine, dark, greenish gray, micaceous 
sand, pyritiferous in places, not sharply separ¬ 
ated from layers above and below, filled with 
soft prints of shells.about 2 6 

2 . Band of coarse and fine sand lenses, with poorly 

preserved shell prints.about 2 6 

(Unconformity, rendered somewhat obscure by 
weathering, but apparently marked by an ir- 
regular line of iron crusts.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1* Irregularly bedded, light gray, coarse arkosic 
sand, with subordinate lenses of light, massive 
clay more or less sandy.about 80 

The white sand masses in layer No. 4 of the above section are not 
mechanically included chunks, as might at first be suspected from 
the conglomeratic appearance of the bed and from its close proximity 
to the base of the formation, neither are they of concretionary origin. 
Apparently the white sand has been segregated by a sorting process 
of some kind while deposition was in progress. (See plate B, oppo¬ 
site p. 96.) 

The forms listed below were collected from the fossiliferous layers 
of the foregoing section, principally from layer No. 3. 

Locality No. 6J/.10.—Steam Mill Road, seven miles a little south of 
east of Columbus, Ga., westward-facing slope of Tiger CreeJc Valiev. 
L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

Mollusca: 

Nucula sp. 

Perna sp. nov. (probably same as at Broken Arrow Bend.) 
Cardlum sp. 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad). 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 

Anchura sp. 

On this same road about one and one-half miles farther to east,, 
weathered marine Eutaw materials were seen on the top of the divide 
between Steam Mill and Wolf Creek. 

In Chattahoochee County strata belonging to this part of the Eutaw 
formation have produced the surface materials in a belt four to eight 
miles wide south of Upatoi Creek, embracing about one-half of the 
total area of the county, excepting, however, limited areas along Chat¬ 
tahoochee River and Upatoi Creek where the Eutaw beds are covered 
by relatively thin Pleistocene terrace deposits. The basal beds have 
been examined at three localities on Upatoi Creek. 

Just above the bridge of the Columbus-Lumpkin road, seven and 
one-half miles south of Columbus, 10 feet of characteristic light gray, 
compact sands and clays of the Lower Cretaceous occur beneath sev¬ 
eral feet of dark, calcareous, marine sands and clays of the Eutaw 
formation. The extent of the exposure is small, but the contact be¬ 
tween the two formations, where observed, is sharp and somewhat ir¬ 
regular, and is believed to represent an important time iuterva 1 





126 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


The details of another important section on Upatoi Creek below 
the Columbus-Cusseta road bridge is given in the following section: 

Section on TJpatoi Creek one-quarter mile below the bridge of the 
Columbus-Cusseta road, seven miles southeast of Columbus, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. Feet. In. 

9. Brown, unconsolidated sand (weathered marine 

sand). 5 

8. Greenish, partially weathered irregularly foliated 

fine sand and clay. 5 

7. Fine-grained white sandstone. 1 

6. Greenish, irregularly foliated, fine sand and clay 2 

5. Dark greenish gray, argillaceous sand. 5 

4. Fine-grained, white sandstone. 1 6 


3. Very fine-grained, dark greenish gray, argilla¬ 
ceous clay with fine, irregular, dark clay folia¬ 
tions. Contains discontinuous, nodular lime¬ 
stone layers and irregularly distributed lime 
concretions. Scattered fragments of lignite pres¬ 
ent in the materials. Fossiliferous. 25 

(Unconformity, contact not well exposed.) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. Light gray, coarse, crossbedded, more or less ar- 
kosic sand, partially streaked with yellow, with 


subordinate, sandy clay layers. 22 

1. Concealed to water level. 30 


The forms listed below were collected from the fossiliferous layer 
in the preceding section: 

Bluff of Upatoi Creek, seven miles southeast of Columbus, Ga., 
below the Cusseta Road bridge. Otto Veatch and L. W. Stephenson, 
collectors. 



Locality Numbers 


O.V. 

5373 

L.W.S. 

5377 

Leda sp. nov. ? . 


X 

Cucullaea ? . 


X 

Perna sp. nov. 

X 

X 

Ostrea cretacea Morton. 

X 

X 

Exogyra upatoiensis sp. nov. 

X 

X 

Pholadomya sp. nov. 


X 

Cardium sp. 


X 

Baroda sp. nov. 


X 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 


X 

Undetermined pelecypods. 


X 

Turritella sp. 

•x 


Anchura sp. 

X 


Undetermined gastropods. 

Vertebrata: 

X 


Lamna texana Roemer. 

X 


Corax falcatus Agassiz. 

X 


Otodus ? . 

X 


































EUTAW FORMATION 


127 


The third locality mentioned is on Upatoi Creek near McBride 
Ford, 11 miles (air-line distance) south of east of Columbus, Ga. 
The exposure is on the south hank of the creek a short distance above 
the ford. The details of the sections are described on page 86 of this 
report. The relations of the three formations appearing in the bluff 
are illustrated in the following sketch: 

\ 



Unconformity 


Unconformity 


--- 600 '± -H 

Fig. 9. Sketch showing the relations of Lower Cretaceous beds and the 
Eutaw formation to each other and to overlying Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

Explanation of sketch. 

3. Pleistocene terrace deposit.—Principally loose sand with a gravel 
band along base. 

2. Eutaw formation.—Irregularly bedded, coarse, arkosic, crossbedded 
sand with subordinate, chocolate to black clay lenses. The sand 
is in places full of small, angular, quartz pebbles and some feld¬ 
spar fragments, the basal portions being especially coarse. The 
materials contain considerable lignite, some of which is in the form 
of fairly large logs. The clay lenses contain leaf impressions, for 
the most part imperfect. However, from one dark lens,’ six to 
ten inches thick, near the lower end of the bluff, a number of well 
preserved leaves were collected. 

1. Lower Cretaceous.—Characteristic, light gray, compact, arkosic 
sand and drab clay, breaking with hackley fracture. 


The Pleistocene terrace bordering the creek on the south side at 
McBride Ford is only a few rods wide. The hills immediately to the 
south rise 240 feet above the creek bed. The strata making up the 
body of these hills belongs to the Eutaw formation, but no good ex¬ 
posures were seen in this immediate vicinity. 

The contact between the Lower Cretaceous beds and the Eutaw 
formation at the McBride Ford locality is undulating and is suf¬ 
ficiently sharp to be easily traceable along the bluff. Although the 
materials above and below the contact do not differ markedly, the 
former having been derived largely from the latter, yet there is a 
recognizable physical difference. The beds below are more compact, 
are free from lignite, and the clays are non-laminated, breaking with 
a hackley fracture. The materials above are less compact, show 
greater signs of current activity during deposition, contain consid¬ 
erable lignite, and the clays are laminated. 
















128 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PL Alls 


E. W. Berry 1 has identified from this locality the plant species 
listed below: 

Andromeda cretacea Lesq. ? 

Andromeda wardiana Lesq. 

Androvettia elegans Berry 
Aralia eutawensis Berry 
Brachyphyllum macrocarpum Newb. 

Cinnamomum heerii Lesq. 

Cinnamomum Newberryi Berry 
Eucalyptus angusta Velen. 

Ficus ovatifolia Berry 
Manibotoides georgiana Berry 

Several other exposures of the formation have been studied in the 
county. At Ochillee there is exposed in the bed of Ochillee Creek 
about 16 feet of Eutaw materials, consisting of layers of impure 
limestone interstratified with layers of marine sand. (See plate X, 
A.) Fossils partially in the form of casts are abundant. The 
horizon is probably slightly higher than the fossiliferous layer, Xo. 3, 
described in the section on Upatoi Creek below Columbus-Cusseta 
road bridge. Veatch has published the following more complete 
section of the strata exposed at and near Ochillee. (Clay report, 
p. 91.) 

Ochillee Creek, Section at Ochillee. 

Feet. 


5. Brown or yellow, unconsolidated sand (at top) . . 

4. Blue or black, laminated, sandy clay, “marl” . . 40 

3. Sandstone. 4 

2. Dark gray calcareous sandstone. In places the bed 

is composed almost entirely of shells. 4 

1. Black and gray micaceous, calcareous sand; con¬ 
tains poorly preserved shells and lignite ... 8 


Layer Xo. 4 of Yeatch’s section probably corresponds to the thick 
clay bed exposed at Slick Bluff, and other bluffs along Euchee Bapids, 
Chattahoochee River. 

The following fossils have been recognized at the Ochillee locality: 

Contributions to the Mesozoic flora of the Atlantic Coastal Plain— vt 'leertria : 
Bull. Torrey Botan. Club No. 37, 1910, p. 504. 


Juglans arctica Heer ? 

Mjagnolia boulayana Heer 
Magnolia capellinii Heer 
Menispermites variabilis Berry 
Paliurus upatoiensis Berry 
Salix flexuosa Newb. 

Sequota Reichenbachi (Gein.) Heer 
Tumion carolinianum Berry ? 
Zizyphus laurifolius Berry 




GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 


PLATE XII. 



A. BLUFF AT BLUFFTOWN, GA., THIRTY-ONE AND ONE-QUARTER MILES 
BELOW COLUMBUS. GA.. SHOWING GRAY. CALCAREOUS SANDS 
AND CLAYS. WITH INDURATED CALCAREOUS LAYERS BELONG¬ 
ING TO THE TOMBIGBEE SAND MEMBER OF THE EUTAW 

FORMATION. 



B. 


EXPOSURE IN CUT OF SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAY, TWO AND ONE-HALF 
MILES NORTHWEST OF CUSSETA, CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY. GA., 
SHOWING GRAY, MARINE SANDS WITH A LAYER OF CALCAREOUS 
CONCRETIONS NEAR THE BASE. BELONGING TO THE TOMBIG¬ 
BEE S \ND MEMBER OF THE EUTAW FORMATION. 


















































































■ 












































EUTAW FORMATION 


129 


Bed of Ocliillee Creek at Ochillee, Chattahoochee County , Ga. Otto 
Veatch and L. W. Stephenson, collectors. 



Locality Numbers 


o.v. 

5374 

L.W.S. 

5378 

Vermes: 



Serpula sp. 

X 

X? 

Mollusca: 



Nucula percrassa Conrad. 


X 

Cucullaea sp. .. 

X 

X? 

Trigonoarca sp. 


X 

Breviarca ? . . .. 

X 

X 

Glycymeris sp. 


X 

Perna sp. nov. 

X 

X? 

Ostrea cretacea Morton. 

X 

X? 

Pecten sp. 


X 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, 



N. C.). 

X 

X? 

Etea carolinensis Conrad. 

X 

I X? 

Crassatellites ?. 


1 x 

Cardium sp. 

X 

X? 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad ?. 


X 

Baroda ?. 


X 

Leptosolen biplicata Conrad. 


1 x 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad). 

X 

X? 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 

X 

x 

Undetermined pelecypods. 

X 

X 

Turritella sp. 

X 

X? 

Anchura sp. 

X 

1 x ? 


About three-quarters of a mile southeast of Ochillee on the Sea¬ 
board Air Line Railway, a shallow cut reveals at its base two feet of 
dark to black, finely micaceous marine clay, containing fossil casts, 
among which the following were recognized: 

Nucula percrassa C<$nrad 
Leda sp. 

Inoceramus sp. 

Cardium sp. 

Legumen planulatum (Conrad) 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad 

This clay probably corresponds in stratigraphic position to the base 
of the clay bed at the Euchee Rapids exposures above mentioned. 

At Sulphur Springs on the Seaboard Air Line Railway, 13% miles 
southeast of Columbus, there are poor exposures of coarse, yellow 
sandstone. A cut on the same railroad one-half mile farther to the 
southeast, reveals 15 feet of medium to coarse-grained, crossbedded 
sand with occasional thin, light drab clay layers irregularly inter- 
stratified. These two last occurrences probably correspond strati- 
graphically to the coarse, ferruginous rocks on Chattahoochee River 
from 20 to 22 miles below Columbus. 
































130 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


At 14 1 /2 miles southeast of Columbus a cut of the Seaboard Air 
Line Railway shows several feet of irregularly bedded, thinly lami¬ 
nated dark and light micaceous clay with lenses of fine to coarse 
sand. Stratigraphically, these materials probably correspond ap¬ 
proximately to the irregularly bedded sands and clays making up 
the lower 20 'feet of the section at Chimney Bluff on Chattahoochee 
River. 

In a well on the property of J. R. Christian, four miles west of 
Ochillee, water was secured in soft, white sand at a depth of 60 feet 
below the surface. This sand is probably referable to the Eutaw for¬ 
mation. The owner is authority for the lithology. 

The log of a well on the property of A. K. Cook, two miles east 
of Shack, Ga., is given below; the owner is authority for the lithology. 

Log of well on property of A. K. Cook, two miles edst of Shack, Ga. 

Upper Cretaceous Feet. 

Eutaw formation. 


6. 

Sand . 


0 

to 3 

5. 

Clay . 


3 

“ 21 

4. 

Sand rocks and coarse sand. 


21 

“ 41 

3. 

Fine white sand, almost as fine as flour, 
white as snow. 

and as 

41 

“ 47 

2. 

Coarse gravel. 

about. 

47 

“ 100 

1 . 

Coarse red sand, almost as red as blood . . 

about. 

100 

“ 104 


On the Columbus-Lumpkin road, 11 miles south of Columbus, the 
southward-facing slope of Gilbert Creek Valley presents the follow- 
ing section: 


Section Columbus-Lumpkin road, 11 miles south of Columbus, Ga., 
southward-facing slope of Gilbert Creek Valley. 


Pleistocene (second terrace above the river). Feet. 

6. Loose, gray surface sands. 3 

5. Mottled pink and yellow, micaceous, argillaceous 

sand. 10 

4. Gravel bed with coarse, arkosic sand matrix ... 13 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. 

3. Laminated, drab clay and fine, yellow micaceous 

sand. 6 

2. Mottled gray, red, and yellow, coarse to fine sand 18 

1. Drab, laminated clay with seams of comminuted 

plant remains. 2 


On the same road 13 miles south of Columbus the northward-facing 
slope of Oswichee Creek Valley furnishes the following section: 











EUTAW FORMATION 


131 


Section C olumbus-Lumpkin road, northward-facing slope of Oswichee 
Creek Valley, 13 miles south of Columbus, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Eutaw formation. Feet. 

3. Compact, red, ferruginous, faintly stratified sand 15 

2. Laminated, drab clay and yellow and red, fine to 
coarse, micaceous sand with some conspicuous 
lenses of more compact, laminated clay .... 12 

1. Fine to medium coarse, loose, light gray to yellow¬ 
ish sand with scattered clay laminae through¬ 
out . 50 


Detailed information concerning the extension of the formation to 
the northeastward in Marion and Taylor counties is lacking. How¬ 
ever, the beds are known to become coarser and more irregularly 
bedded, and probably represent near-shore and estuarine phases of 
the formation. The Tombigbee sand member, described in later 
pages, which makes up the upper part of the formation, probably 
also merges to the northeastward into similar shallow-water beds. 
These resemble so closely the sands and clays of the overlying Cus- 
seta sand member of the Ripley formation that it is not possible to 
differentiate them without a considerable amount of very detailed 
work. 

A “black marly clay,” which probably represents the northeastward 
extension of the formation, was encountered at depths of 60 to 73 
feet in a well one and one-half miles north of Mauk, on the property 
of J. L. Whitley, who is authority for the statement. 

DETAILED SECTIONS. (TOMBIGBEE SAND MEMBER.) 

Chattahoochee River .—The Tombigbee sand member appears in 
the bluffs of Chattahoochee River from Chimney Bluff, 22 miles 
below Columbus, to a point about two miles below Omaha bridge, 
39 miles below Columbus. (For the location of the various exposures 
described, see sketch map of the river, figure 6, p. 79.) 

The upper 50 feet of strata exposed a~t Chimney Bluff, Chatta¬ 
hoochee River, is regarded as the probable base of this division. (See 
detailed section, p. 122 of this report.) The material consist of yel¬ 
lowish, sandy, marine clay (dark greenish gray where unweathered 
in nearby ravines) containing a few imperfect prints of fossils. 
There is no structural break between this and the underlying beds, 
the relation being that of conformity. The base of the Tombigbee 
sand, as interpreted, at the stage of water when visited (about nor¬ 
mal) was 35 feet above water level. 

The fossils listed below have been recognized from the Tombigbee 
sand at Chimney Bluff: 



132 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Chattahoochee River, Chimney Bluff, Chattahoochee County, Ga., 
22 miles below Columbus, Ga. T. W. Stanton and L. W. Stephenson, 
collectors. 



Locality No. 


T.W.S. 

846 

L. W. S. 
6407 

Mollusca: 

Cucullaea sp. 

X 

X 

Inoceramus sp. 

X 

X 

Crassatellites sp. 

X 

X 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad. 

X 

X 

Aphrodina sp. 

X 


Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 

X 


Undetermined gastropod. 

X 



At the Racepasses, about 23% miles below Columbus, left bank, 
the base of the Tombigbee sand is 12 feet above water level. (See 
detailed section, p. 123 of this report.) The materials here consist 
of 14 feet of dark, greenish gray, compact, sandy clay, containing 
casts of pelecypods, among which Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb was 
recognized. At this place also the relations between the tw T o divisions 
appeared to be that of conformity. 

At Big Bend, 24% miles below Columbus, right bank, a few feet 
of gray, marine sand overlies 12 to 15 feet of laminated clays and 
sands. The former is referred to the Tombigbee sand. The Tom¬ 
bigbee materials are overlain by Pleistocene terrace deposits. At one 
point a mass of slightly indurated Tombigbee sand has slipped into 
the river, being partially exposed at low water, from which were col¬ 
lected the following fossils: 


Locality No. 5888.—Big Bend & 4 % miles below Columbus, Ga., 
right bank. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

Mollusca: 

Cucullaea sp. 

Inoceramus sp. 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer 
Pecten sp. 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. 
nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

Below Big Bend the Eutaw formation is represented by beds of 
the Tombigbee member only. 

A bluff at Planters Landing, 25 miles below Columbus, presents 
at its base 25 or 30 feet of dark green, finely arenaceous, marine 
clay, containing fossil remains. A conspicuous layer made up of 


Etea carolinensis Conrad 
Lucina glebula Conrad ? 
Cardium sp. 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Aphrodina sp. 















EUTAW FORMATION 


133 


specimens of Exogyra ponderosa Roemer occurs 12 or 15 feet above 
zero water level. Of the fossils collected here the following were 
identified: 


Loc. No. 5389.—Planters Landing, 25 miles below Columbus, Ga., 
left bank. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


Vermes: 

Hamulus major Gabb 
Molusca: 

Cucullaea sp. 

Nemodon sp. 

Inoceramus sp. 

Ostrea sp. 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer 
Lima sp. 

Anomia argentaria Morton 
Etea carolinensis Conrad 


Crassatellites sp. 

Lucina glebula Conrad ? 

Cardium (Trachycardium) alaba- 
mense Gabb ? 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Cyclothyris ? 

Apbrodina sp. 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) ? 
Corbula carolinensis Conrad ? 
Turritella quadrilira Johnson ? 


At Banks Landing, 26 : (/2 miles below Columbus, left bank, the 
bluff reveals 25 or 30 feet of marine materials referable to the Tom- 
bigbee member, consisting of light gray, calcareous clay and glaucon¬ 
itic sand, with indurated, concretionary, calcareous layers several 
feet apart. (See plate XV, A.) 

Fossils are fairly numerous, and the following were collected and 
identified: 


Chattahoochee River, Banks Landing, Stewart County, Ga., 26^/2 
miles below Columbus, Ga. Collector, L. W. Stephenson. 



Locality Number 


5390 

6406 

Coelenterata: 



Undetermined coral. 

X 


Vermes: 



Serpula sp. (nearly straight tube).• • 

X 



X 

X 

Hamulus onyx Morton. 

X 


Mollusca: 



Nucula sp. (cf. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) .... 


X 


X 


Leda pinnaforma Gabb .. 

X 


Leda longifrons Conrad. 

X 

X 

Leda sp. (cf. L. gabbana (Whitfield). 


X 


X 


Breviarca (cf. B. umbonata Conrad). 


X 


X 

X 

Gervilliosis ensiformis (Conrad) . 

X 

X 



X 


X 

X 

Ostrea cretacea Morton. 

X 

X 

Ostrea plumosa Morton. 


X 


























134 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 



Locality Number 


5390 

6406 

Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck ? (young). 

X 


Gryphaea aucella Roemer. 


X 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer. 


X 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata Stephenson . . 


X 

Trigonia sp. 

x 

. X 

Pecten quinquecostatus (Sowerby) . 

X 

X 

Pecten Simplicius Conrad. 

X 


Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb. 

X 


Pecten sp. 

X 


Lima reticulata Morton. 


X 

Anomia argentaria Morton. 


X 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. Snow Hill, N. C.) 

X 

X 

Liopistba sp. 

X 

X 

Veniella conradi (Morton). 


X 

ju.tea carolinensis Conrad. 


X 

Vetericardia crenalirata (Conrad). 

X 

X 

Crassatellites sp. (cf. C carolinensis Conrad) .... 

X 

X 

Tenea sp. 

X 


Cardium (Tracbycardium alabamense Gabb) .... 


X 

Isocardia sp. 


X 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad. 


X 

Apbrodina ?..*. 


X 

Legumen planulatum (Conrad). 

X 

X 

Linearia metastriata Conrad. 


X 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad). 

X 


Corbula crassiplica Gabb. 

X 


Corbula sp. 

Dentalium sp. nov. (cf. new species from Owl Creek, 

X 

X 

Miss.). 

X 

■ 

Astralium ?. 

X 

X 

Lunatia obliquata M. & H. 


X 

Lunatia sp. 

X 


Turritella quadrilira Johnson. 

X 

X 

Pterocerella tippana Conrad ?. 


X 

Anchura sp. 


X 

Mortoniceras sp. (aff. M. texanum Roemer) .... 


X 

Undetermined gastropods. 

X 



A bluff near tbe upper end of Snake Shoals, left bank, 29 or 29 % 
miles below Columbus, presents materials very similar in appearance 
to those at Banks Landing. 

At the sharp bend to the left just above the mouth of Snake Creek, 
right bank, 30 miles below Columbus, a prominent bluff reveals ma¬ 
terials of the same character as the preceding. Good specimens of 
Exogyra ponderosa Roemer occur here. See plate XI, B, opposite 
page 120.) 

At Bluff town, 31% miles below Columbus, the river strikes 
against a hill having a height of about 195 feet above zero water 
level. Only the basal 40 feet of the bluff is well exposed, but from 










































EUTAW FORMATION , 


135 


poor exposures the following section has been made out roughly: 
(See plate XII, A.) 

Section at Bluff town, Chattahoochee River, 31 1/lf miles below Co¬ 
lumbus, Ga., left bank. 


Upper Cretaceous 
Ripley formation 

(Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

4. Red and yellow, unconsolidated sand, containing 

small pebbles and thin limonite crusts .... 100 

(Typical marine beds) 

3. Gray, calcareous, marine sand with some fossils 50 

Eutaw formation (Tombigbee sand member). 

2. Gray, calcareous, glauconitic sand with indurated, 
nodular, concretionary layers several feet apart, 
about. 35 

1. Gray, calcareous, finely arenaceous, fossiliferous 

clay, about. 10 


Layers Xos. 1, 2, and 3 of the preceding section constitute parts 
of Veatch’s “Bluff town marl.” 

Hear the top of layer Xo. 3 were obtained Ostrea plumosa Morton, 
a young individual of Exogym, with costae, and Anomia sp. nov. 
(cf. new species from Snow Hill, X. C.). The fossils listed below 
were obtained from layers Xos. 1 and 2; but the principal fossil bed 
is layer Xo. 1. 

The Tombigbee sand and the overlying Ripley formation are con¬ 
formable, and the materials above and below the dividing line, as in¬ 
dicated in the above section, are very similar physically. The divi¬ 
sion is made upon paleontologic grounds, and principally upon the 
evidence of a fairly typical though small specimen of Exogyra, with 
costae, in layer Xo. 3, which in western Alabama and eastern central 
Mississippi is not known to occur so low as the Tombigbee sand. One 
or two species in layers Xos. 1 and 2 are relied upon as evidence that 
this portion of the section should he referred to the Tombigbee sand. 
A future more perfect understanding of the vertical range of the in¬ 
cluded forms may establish the necessity of raising or lowering this 
line of division. 




136 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Chattahoochee River, bluff at Blufftown, Stewart County, Ga., 
SlM miles below Columbus, Ga. Collectors, T. W. Stanton and 
L. W. Stephenson. 

Less than J’fo feet above zero water level: 


. 

Lo 

T.W.S 

844 

cality Nn 

L.W.S. 

5392 

mbers 

L.W.S. 

6405 

Vermes: 




Serpula sp. (nearly straight tube). 

X 

X 

X 

Hamulus major Gabb. 

X 

X 

X 

Mollusca: v . 




Nucula percrassa Conrad. 

X 

X 

X 

Nucula eufalensis Gabb. 


X 

X 

Leda sp. 


X 


Cucullaea carolinensis Gabb. 

X 

X 

X 

Trigonoarca sp. (young individual ?). 


X 


Perrisonota protexta Conrad. 


X 


Breviarca umbonata Conrad. 



X 

Breviarca saffordi (Gabb) ?. 


X 


Nemodon sp. nov. 


X 

X 

Area sp. 



X 

Barbatia (Polynema) lintea Conrad. 


X 


Glycymeris? sp. nov. ?. 


X 

X 

Gervilliopsis ensiformis (Conrad). 


X 

X 

Perna sp. nov. 

X 


X 

Inoceramus sp. 

X 

X 

X 

Inoceramus sp. (large cast). 


X 


Pteria petrosa (Conrad). 



X 

Ostrea plumosa Morton . . *. 


X? 

X 

Ostrea sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Blue 




Banks Landing, N. C.). 

1 

X 


Gryphaea sp. (small). 



X 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer. 

X 

X 

X 

Trigonia eufauensis Gabb. 

X 

X? 


Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb. 



X 

Pecten argillensis Conrad ?.. 


X? 


Lima sp. (cf. reticulata Forbes). 

X 

X 


Anomia argentaria Morton. 



X 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow 


.* 


Hill, N. C.). 

X 

X 

X 

Liopistha sp. 



X 

Veniella conradi (Morton). 

X 

X 

X 

Etea carolinensis Conrad. 

X 

X 

X 

Venericardia ?. 

X 



Crassatellites sp. (cf. C. carolinensis Conrad) . . 

X 

X 

X 

Arena carolinensis Conrad.. . •. 



X 

Lucina sp. nov. ?. 

X 

X 

X 

Cardium alabamense Gabb. 

X 

X 


Cardium eufaulense Conrad. 

X 



Cardium spillmani Conrad. 


X 

X 

Cardium (two undetermined species). 



X 

Isocardia sp. 



X 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad. 

X 

X 

X 

Aphrodina regia Conrad ? (young indiv.) . . . 

X 

X 























































GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XIII. 



A. CUT OF SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAY AT MANTA STATION, CHATTA¬ 
HOOCHEE COUNTY. STRATA OF THE CUSSETA SAND MEMBER OYER- 
LAIN BY MARINE MATERIALS OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 



B. 


CUT ON SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAY, THREE MILES EAST OF CUSSETA, 
SHOWING WEATHERED SAND AND LAMINATED CLAY BEDS OF 
THE CUSSETA SAND MEMBER OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 







































































EUTAW FORMATION 


137 


Locality Numbers 



T.W.S. 

844 

L.W.S. 

5392 

L.W.S. 

6405 

Apbrodina sd. ? ... 

x 


x 

Cyclothyris alta Conrad ? . . 

X 

x 


Legumen planulatum (Conrad) 

X 

X 

X 

Linearia sp. (cf. L. carolinensis Conrad) . 



x 

Linearia sp. 

x 



Leptosolen biplicata Conrad 



x 

Schizodesma appressa Gabb . . 

X 



* Corbula crassiplica Gabb. 


X 

x 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad 

X 

x 

x 

Corbula (otner species). 

X 

X 

x 

Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb. 


X 

x 

Cadulus obnutus Conrad . 


x 


Astralium ?. 


X 

x 

Capulus ?. 



x 

Lunatia obliquata M. & H. ... 



x 

Gyrodes, sp. 


X 


Turritella quadrilira Johnson. 


X 

X 

Turritella sp. 


X 


Turritella sp. 


X 


Pterocerella tippana (Conrad) ? . . . . 



X 

Anchura decemlirata Conrad ? . . . . 


X 


Anchura sp. 



X 

Nautilus sp. nov. (large). 


X 

X 

Placenticeras ?. 


X 

X 

Scaphites ?. 



X 

Arthropoda: 




Crabs claws. 


X 


Vertebrata: 




Lamna texana Roemer. 


X 


Vertebrae of fish. 


X 

X 


About one mile below Blufftown, in materials similar to those com¬ 
posing layers Nos. 1 and 2 at that place, the following species were 
collected: 

Locality No. 5393.—One mile below Bluff town, Ga., 32 miles below 
Columbus, Ga. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

Mollusca: 

Cucullaea carolinensis Gabb ? Etea carolinensis Conrad 
Ostrea sp. Aphrodina regia Conraa ? (young) 

Pecten sp. Legumen planulatum Conrad 

From Blufftown to Omaha, 37 miles below Columbus, the materials 
appearing in the bluffs are similar to those in layers Nos. 1 and 2 of 
the section at Blufftown. They consist of compact, calcareous sands 
and clays with indurated, calcareous layers two to 10 feet apart. 
These layers are nearly horizontal, but are seen to undulate slightly, 
in places to the extent of several feet of vertical distance. There is, 








































138 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


however, a slight general dip down stream, amounting perhaps to 
several feet to the mile. 

About one-eighth of a mile below the bridge of the Seaboard Air 
Line Railway at Omaha, the following fossils were collected in a 
layer five to eight feet above water level: 

Loc. No. 5391+. — One-eighth mile below Omaha Bridge (S. A. L.) 
and about 37 miles below Columbus, Ga. L. W. Stephenson, col¬ 
lector. 


Vermes: 

Serpula sp. 

Mollusca: 

Nucula percrassa Conrad ? 
Cucullaeue sp. 

Nemodon ? 

Trigonia eufalensis Gabb ? 
Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb 
Cymella bella Conrad 
Veniella conradi (Morton) 
Crassatellites sp. 


Cardium (Trachycardium) alaba- 
mense Gabb ? 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Cyclothyris alta Conrad 
Cyclothyris carolinensis Conrad ? 
Legumen planulatum Conrad 
Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Turritella trilira Conrad 
Tudicla (Pyropsis) perlata Conrad ? 
Gyrodes ? 

Vertebrata: 

Otodus appendiculatus Agassiz 


Marine materials with indurated, calcareous, concretionary layers, 
referable to this division, were observed for two miles below Omaha, 
to the bend to the left below the mouth of Hatchachubbee Creek, 39 
miles below Columbus. At the latter place there is a decided re¬ 
verse dip to the stratification planes amounting to several degrees. 
The Tombigbee sand member is believed to pass finally beneath water 
level between this point and Florence, three miles below, for at the 
latter place beds referable to the Ripley formation make up the entire 
Cretaceous portion of the bluff. 

East of Chattahoochee River. —The Tombigbee member of the for¬ 
mation outcrops in a belt only a few miles wide, extending from Chat¬ 
tahoochee River in a northeasterly direction through Chattahoochee 
County into Marion County. In the latter county the member prob¬ 
ably loses its identity as a massive, calcareous, marine formation, by 
horizontal mergence into coarser sands and clays of shallow-water 
origin. 

In Chattahoochee County the member has been studied at several 
places east of the river. The following section was made along the 
Columbus-Lumpkin road, just north of Jamestown: 

Section Columbus-Lumpkin Road, northward-facing slope of Sand 

Branch, 18 miles south of Columbus, near J amestown postoffice . 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra ponderosa zone). 

12. Reddish, massive, medium-grained, ferruginous, 

marine sand, partially indurated. 5 



EUTAW FORMATION 


139 


11. Coarse, reddish and yellowish, loose sand .... 3 

10. Fine, micaceous, unconsolidated sand, streaked 

with yellow and purple. 20 

9. Dark, laminated, finely micaceous clay. 6 in. to 1 

8. Fine, micaceous, greenish gray, argillaceous, mar¬ 
ine sand filled with soft pelecypod casts, with 
some lenses of unfossiliferous, gray sand, and 
a thin layer of dark, laminated clay, two feet 

above base. 10 

7. Greenish gray, argillaceous sand with numerous 

small, short, interlocking clay laminae .... 6 

6. Dark, finely-arenaceous, thinly laminated clay . 12 

utaw formation (Tombigbee sand member, Exogyra 
ponderosa zone). 

5. Greenish gray, argillaceous, massive sand, with 

numerous soft casts. 5 

4. Dark, laminated, micaceous clay interstratified 
with lenses and layers of light greenish gray, 
fine, micaceous sand reaching a maximum thick¬ 
ness of three feet. Some fossil casts. 17 

3. Dark greenish gray, extremely micaceous sand 
with occasional calcareous concretions. Con¬ 
tains an abundance of decayed fossil shells . . 11 

2. Similar to layer No. 3, but light greenish gray in 

color. Contains soft shells. 10 

1. Poorly exposed to base of hill, but consists for the 
most part of greenish gray, massive, non-fossil- 
iferous marine sand. 22 


The dividing line between the Eutaw and Ripley formations has 
been placed rather arbitrarily at the point indicated in the above 
section, and future work may demonstrate the necessity of placing 
it at some other level. 

The fossils given in the list below were obtained from layers Nos. 
2 and 3. 


Locality No. 61^11 a-b. — Columbus-Lumpkin road , south side, about 
18 or 18y 2 miles south of Columbus, Ga. L. W. Stephenson, col¬ 
lector. 


Mollusca: 

Nucula sp. (cf. sp. nov. from 
Snow Hill, N. C.) 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer 
Trigonia eufalensis Gabb 
Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. 
nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 


Veniella sp. (cf. species from Hodges 
Mill, S. C.) 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) 
Schizodesma appressa Gabb ? 
Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Turritella quarrilira Johnson 


Another exposure of the member is furnished by a cut of the Sea¬ 
board Air Line Railway, two and one-half miles northwest of Cusseta 
at the 16th milepost (south of Columbus). The materials consist of 
about 10 feet of dark gray, marine sand, with a layer of nodular 
lime concretions near the base. (See plate XII, B, opposite page 128 ) 
The lower two or three feet, including the concretions, is fossil - 
iferous. The determinable forms are listed below: 









140 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Locality No. 5379.—Two and one-half miles northwest of Cusseta, 
Ga., in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway, Milepost 16. L. W. 
Stephenson, collector. 

Mollusca: 

Cucullaea sp. 

Inoceramus sp. 

Inoceramus sp. 

Breviarca sp. 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erratis- 
tata Stephenson 

Pecten sp. nov. (cf. sp. nov. 
from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

Anomia argentaria Morton 

One-half mile northwest of Cusseta on the same railroad, the fol¬ 
lowing forms were obtained in the form of casts, from a black clay 
at the base of a cut: 

Locality No. 5380. — One-half mile northwest of Cusseta, Ga., in cut 

of Seaboard Air Line Railway. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 
Mollusca: 

Cymella bella Conrad 
Scbizodesma appressa Gabb 
Undetermined pelecypod casts 

This horizon is near the top of the Tombigbee sand and probably 
occupies approximately the same stratigraphic position as the fossil- 
iferous layers Nos. 2 and 3, in the section near Jamestown described 
on p. 114 of this report. 

The Tombigbee sand, as such, has not been traced with certainty 
far beyond the boundary of Chattahoochee County into Marion 
County. Veatch has noted an exposure of black micaceous clay near 
the western border of the latter county which is»believed to represent 
this division. It is believed that the massive, marine beds disappear 
in Marion County by horizontal mergence into irregularly bedded 
sand and clays of shallow-water origin. 

CORRELATION" 

The present attempt to establish the age and geological position of 
the beds here referred to the Eutaw formation, in terms of better 
known sections outside of Georgia, is made partly on the basis of 
their contained animal and plant remains, and partly on the basis of 
their stratigraphic position with reference to overlying beds, the pa- 
leontologic characters of which are such as to permit of more accurate 
correlations. 

The studies furnishing the paleontologic data for correlation have 
been of a preliminary character and it is to be expected that the ex¬ 
haustive studies of the fauna of the region soon to be prosecuted will 


Liopistha alternata Weller 
Veniella conradi Morton 
Etea carolinensis Conrad 
Lucina glebula Conrad 
Cardium sp. (cast) 

Cardium alabamense Gabb ? 
Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Aphrodina sp. 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Turritella trilira Conrad 


EUTAW FORMATION 


141 


show the necessity for many changes in nomenclature of the fossils, 
and will reveal some errors in the determinations of genera and 
species. It is also to be expected that some species now T regarded as 
restricted in range within certain limits will be found to occur in 
higher or in lower horizons. But this lessening of the number of 
restricted forms will probably be offset by the discovery of new re¬ 
stricted forms, and by the recognition of specific differences in forms 
now regarded as having wide vertical ranges. It is believed, however, 
that such changes as are found necessary will be of minor importance 
as regards their effect upon the major conclusions reached through 
these preliminary studies. 

The lists of Eutaw species from Chattahoochee River and from 
Georgia, given on preceding pages, fall into two sets: first, those from 
horizons in the lower 100 or 150 feet of the formation; and second, 
those from the Tombigbee sand member which makes up the upper 
120 feet of the formation. The two sets will be considered sepa¬ 
rately. 

Basal beds of the formation. —The following species of invertebrate 
fossils, 16 in number, have been identified from the beds composing 
the lower 100 or 150 feet of the formation: 


Nucula percrassa Conrad 
Peraa sp. nov. 

Ostrea cretacea Morton 
Ostrea sp. nov. (cf. sp. nov. from 
House Bluff, Alabama River.) 
Ostrea sp. nov. ? (aff. O. lugubris 
Conrad) 

Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson 
Pecten sp. nov. (same as at Snow 
Hill, N. C.) 


Anomia sp. nov. (same as at Snow 
Hill, N. C.) 

Pholadomya sp. nov. 

Etea carolinensis Conrad 
Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Baroda sp. nov. 

Leptosolen biplicata Conrad 
Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) 
Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Placenticeras sp. (aff. P. guadalupae 
Roemer) 


Of the species listed the following five range upward through the 
Tombigbee sand and the Ripley formation, and are, therefore, of no 
value in close correlation: 

Nucula percrassa Conrad Leptosolen biplicata Conrad 

Etea carolinensis Conrad Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad ranges up into but not above the zone 
of Exogyra ponderosa of the Ripley formation. In North Carolina 
Corbula carolinensis is found in the invertebrate-bearing beds of the 
upper part of the Black Creek formation. In New Jersey a nearly 
related, if not identical form, Corbula bisulcata Conrad, occurs in the 
Magothy formation (“Cliffwood clay”), and in the Merchantville 
clay marl and the Woodbury clay (basal formations of the Matawan). 
In western Alabama it occurs in the Eutaw formation at Finches 


142 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Ferry, and in Mississippi five and one-half miles east of Booneville, 
in glauconitic sands which fall within the zone of Exogyra ponderosa , 
The species is of value therefore, only as indicating an age greater 
than that of the extreme basal beds of the zone of Exogyra costata. 

In the Chattahoochee region Ostrea cretacea Morton occurs spar¬ 
ingly in the overlying Tombigbee sand. It is abundant, however, in 
the Tombigbee sand in central and western Alabama. In North 
Carolina the species occurs abundantly at Kerrs Cove, Black Kiver, 
and sparingly at a number of other localities in the Black Creek for¬ 
mation. From the evidence furnished by other forms it is believed 
that these Black Creek localities correspond in stratigraphic position 
to that part of the zone of Exogyra ponderosa which lies above the 
Tombigbee sand in the Chattahoochee region. In New Jersey the 
species occurs in the Magothy formation. This form appears, there¬ 
fore, to have about the same range, and consequently the same sig¬ 
nificance, as Corbula carolinensis. 

Pecteji sp. nov. and Anomia sp. nov. range up through the Tom¬ 
bigbee sand into the basal beds ( Exogyra ponderosa zone) of the Rip¬ 
ley formation. Both occur in the marine invertebrate-bearing beds 
of the Black Creek formation in North Carolina. Ostrea sp. nov. 
(probably same as sp. nov. from House Bluff, Alabama River) is 
questionably referred to an undescribed species occurring in abun¬ 
dance at the top of the Tombigbee sand at House Bluff, Alabama 
River, Ala. Perna sp. nov. ranges up into the Tombigbee sand. This 
species is not known outside of the Chattahoochee region, although 
representatives of the genus occur in the Black Creek formation of 
North Carolina. Ostrea sp. nov. ? (aff. 0. lugubris Conrad) is new 
to the eastern Gulf Cretaceous. Ostrea lugubris Conrad, 1 with which 
it is compared, is known only from the Eagle Ford formation of 
Texas. Placenticeras sp. (cf. P. guadalupae Roemer) appears to be 
closely related to, but is not identical with Placenticeras guadalupae 
Roemer, a form common in the Tombigbee sand (Mortoniceras 
horizon), and in the upper part of the Austin chalk of Texas. 

Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson, 1 Philadomya sp. nov., and Baroda 
sp. nov. have not been found outside of the basal beds of the Eutaw 
formation in the Chattahoochee region. 

To summarize, five of the 16 species rauge upward into the 
Exogyra costata zone of the eastern Gulf region, and 11 are restricted 
below that zone and its equivalents. Of the 11 restricted forms four 
range upward into the basal beds of the Ripley formation ( Exogyra 

1 Since this report was written, good specimens of an oyster closely related to 
Ostrea lugubris Conrad, and good specimens of Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson, have 
been recognized in well samples obtained from a deep well at Charleston, S. C., at 
depths of between 1,974 and 2,007 feet. The horizon from which they were taken 
doubtless corresponds in age to the horizon which has yielded the fauna of the basal 
beds of the Eutaw formation in the Chattahoochee region. 



EUTAW FORMATION 


143 


ponderosa zone), two range into the Tombigbee sand, and five are 
restricted to the basal Eutaw beds. 

The basal Eutaw beds lack entirely the species which are regarded 
as characeristic of the Exogyra costata zone. They also lack certain 
species which are common in the Exogyra ponderosa zone, which in¬ 
cludes the Tombigbee sand and a part of the overlying Ripley for¬ 
mation, such as Exogyra ponderosa Roemer and Gryphaea aucella 
Roemer. The five forms restricted to the beds of this formation, since 
they are all new to science, afford but little positive evidence of the 
age of the terrane. However, the beds in which they are found are 
known to occupy a position stratigraphically lower than any other 
marine invertebrate-bearing beds thus far discovered in the eastern 
Gulf region, and, for this reason if for no other, the fauna must be 
regarded as the oldest of its kind known in the region. The new 
species, Exogyra upatoiensis Stephenson, which occurs in the marine 
beds near the base of the formation, has a markedly different surface 
sculpture from the other known species of this genus in the Atlantic 
and Eastern Gulf Cretaceous. The presence of this species and the 
presence of the fluted oyster, related to Ostrea lugubris Conrad, which 
occurs in the Eagle Ford formation of Texas, may perhaps be con¬ 
sidered paleontologic evidence of the greater age of the fauna. Since 
the conditions of the preservation of one species of oyster are as 
favorable as they are for the preservation of any other species of the 
same family, this new species of Exogyra and the fluted oyster would 
be expected to appear in the collections from the overlying Tombigbee 
sand if, in this region, they had lived contemporaneously with the 
■oyster, Exogyra ponderosa Roemer, which is common in that terrane. 

From the range determinations as above stated, the following con¬ 
clusions have been deduced: The fauna present in the basal beds of 
the Eutaw formation possesses elements in common with the Cre¬ 
taceous faunas of higher horizons in the same region; however, in 
passing from this basal horizon to the successively higher horizons the 
number of common species diminishes. Although showing these re¬ 
lationships the fauna contains elements distinct from anything known 
in the higher horizons. Comparing this fauna with Cretaceous 
faunas to the northward it is found that it bears about the same 
relationship to the invertebrate fauna present in the upper part of 
the Black Creek formation of the Carolinas that it does to the fauna 
of the basal beds of the Ripley formation ( Exogyra ponderosa zone) 
in the Chattahoochee region. The basal Eutaw beds are therefore 
lower, stratigraphically, than the invertebrate-bearing beds of the 
Black Creek formation, and, in the opinion of the writer, correspond 
approximately to the non-invertebrate bearing beds of that formation. 
The actual evidence for a comparison of the basal Eutaw fauna with 


144 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


the Cretaceous faunas of New Jersey is slight; but combined witb 
evidence furnished by the faunas from overlying horizons there seems 
to be sufficient grounds for correlating the containing strata approxi¬ 
mately with the Magothy formation. 

The invertebrate-bearing basal Eutaw beds of the Chattahoochee 
region are represented to the westward in Alabama and Mississippi 
by corresponding basal Eutaw strata in which no well-preserved in¬ 
vertebrates have as yet been discovered. 

Eossil plants have been obtained at several horizons in that part 
of the Eutaw formation below the Tombigbee sand member. E. W. 
Berry, who studied them, recognized 27 species from the terrane. He 
furnishes the following statements, quoted from an unpublished man¬ 
uscript on the fossil plants of Georgia, giving his views of the sig¬ 
nificance of the plant remains in correlation: 

It is clear that the flora of the Eutaw formation of Georgia is of the 
same age as the Magothy flora of the northern Coastal Plain and the Black 
Creek flora of the Carolinas. It has much in common with the much more 
extensive Tuscaloosa flora of western Alabama, and these beds of Georgia 
are probably homotaxial with more or less of the upper Tuscaloosa of western 
Alabama. Whether the Tuscaloosa flora of western Alabama is essentially 
a unit and accidents of preservation account for its greater richness, or 
whether the plant beds of this fromation in northwestern Alabama are ap¬ 
preciably older, is a question which can not be answered positively until 
the flora is critically studied. 

The flora of the Eutaw in Georgia is strictly comparable with that of the 
upper Tuscaloosa of western Alabama, as for example, the flora of which 
a few species are preserved near Havana in Hale County, Ala., and which 
lies on the border line between the Tuscaloosa and Eutaw formations, as 
delimited in that area by Professor Smith, the State Geologist. 

The evidence furnished by the plants as interpreted is at least in 
part agreement with that afforded by the invertebrates, although in 
the opinion of the present writer the Magothy flora, with which 
Georgia flora is compared, persisted to a later time in the region of 
the Carolinas, and, as will be shown later, also in Georgia, than in 
New Jersey; for the fauna present in the upper part of the Black 
Creek formation seems to indicate clearly that this terrane includes 
representatives of both the Magothy and the overlying Matawan 
formations. 

The flora in the upper part of the Tuscaloosa formation in Hale 
County, Ala., with which Berry compares these Georgia species, oc¬ 
curs in beds the lithologic character of which would admit of their 
being considered as belonging to either the upper part of the Tusca¬ 
loosa formation, or to the basal portion of the overlying Eutaw for¬ 
mation. 

The following vertebrate species, all sharks, have been collected 
from the Broken Arrow Bend exposure near the base of the Eutaw 
formation: 


eutaw formation 


145 


Corax falcatus Agassiz 
Lamna texana Roemer 


Otodus appendiculatus Agassiz 


* " de 

member. The beds on Chattahoochee Kiver, here 
dence of • “M^gbee ? an< *’ are so correlated chiefly on the evi- 
? f celtam species of invertebrates, but in part upon their phv- 

all essentTal res “? -^T' ^hologically, the materials agree in 

thoZ rte eZ P f %T th th0Se 0f the ^P e re S ion in Mississippi, al- 
nlt ? ° f Uf 1S greater> The for mation is immediately 
liirnfte U S !u^ S and C ays contamin g a considerable percentage of 

wfb tW '"I t f SpeCt tLe l0W6r relations are in <*** agreement 
with hose of the type region. In the type region the Tombigbee 

sand is immediately overlain by the Selma chalk. In the Chatta- 
hoochee region the Selma chalk is not present as such, but is repre¬ 
sented by marine sands and clays, the beds immediately above the 
iombigbee sand being of marine origin and similar to the beds of 
tne iombigbee member itself. 

The Tombigbee sand member forms the basal portion of the zone 
of Exogyraponderosa of the Upper Cretaceous deposits, of which the 
p^t P 0ne ' third 0r one " lial:f °f Ripley formation forms the upper 

Omitting a number of questionably identified species, 57 species 
of invertebrates have been identified from the Tombigbee member in 
the Chattahoochee region as follows: 


1. Serpula sp. (nearly straight tube) (Rc) 

2. Hamulus onyx Morton (Rc, Rp) 

3. Hamulus major Gabb 

4. Nucula percrassa Conrad (Rc, Rp, Eb) 

5. Nucula eufalensis Gabb (Rc) 

6. Nucula sp. (cf. sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

7. Leda longifrons Conrad (Rc) 

8. Perrisonota protexta Conrad (Rc) 

9. Cucullaea carolinensis (Gabb) (Rp) 

10. Breviarca umbonata (Conrad) 

11. Nemodon sp. nov. (Blufftown, etc.) 

12. Barbatia lintea Conrad (Rp) 

13. Gervilliopsis ensiformis (Conrad) (Rc) 

14. Perna sp. nov. (Broken Arrow Bend, etc.) (Ec) 

15. Ostrea plumosa Morton (Rc, Rp) 

16. Ostrea cretacea Morton (Eb) 

17. Ostrea sp. nov. (same as at Blue Banks Ldg., N. C.) 

18. Gryphaea aucella Roemer 

19. Exogyra ponderosa Roemer 

20. Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata Stephenson (Rp) 

21. Trigonia eufalensis Gabb (Rc) 

22. Pecten quinquecostatus (Sowerby) (Rc) 

23. Pecten Simplicius Conrad (Rc) 

24. Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb (Rp) 


146 • GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

25. Pecten sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) (Rp. 

Eb.) 

26. Lima reticulata Forbes (Rc) 

27. Anomia argentaria Morton (Rc, Rp) 

28. Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) (Rp, Eb) 

29. Cymella bella 'Conrad (Rc) 

30. Liopistha alternata Weller 

31. Liopistha sp. (aff. F. alternata Weller) 

32. Veniella conradi (Morton) (Rc, Rp) 

33. Etea carolinensis Conrad (Rc, Eb) 

34. Vetericardia crenalirata (Conrad) (Rc) , 

35. Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad ? (Rp) 

36. Arena carolinensis Conrad 

37. Lucina glebula Conrad (Rp) 

38. Cardium eufaulense Conrad (Rc, Rp) 

39. Cardium spillmani Conrad (Rc) 

40. Cardium alabamense Gabb (Rc) 

41. Cyprimeria depressa Conrad (Rc, Rp, Eb) 

42. Cyclothyris alta Conrad (Rp) 

43. Legumen planulatum (Conrad) (Rc, Rff) 

44. Linearia metastriata Conrad (Rc) 

45. Leptosolen biplicata Conrad (Rc, Rp, Eb) 

46. Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) (Rc, Rp, Eb) 

47. Schizodesma appressa Gabb 

48. Corbula crassiplica Gabb (Rc) 

49. Corbula carolinensis Conrad (Rp, Eb) 

50. Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb (Rc) 

51. Dentalium sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Owl Creek, Miss) 

52. Cadulus obnutus (Conrad) (Rc) 

53. Lunatia obliquata Meek and Hayden (Rc) 

54. Turritella trilira Conrad (Rc) 

55. Turritella quadrilira Johnson 

56. Nautilus sp. nov. (large, Blufftown, etc.) 

57. Mortoniceras sp. nov. (cf. M. texanum Roemer) 

Of the 57 species, 30, marked (Rc) in the list, have been recog¬ 
nized in the zone of Exogyra costata of the Ripley formation in the 
Chattahoochee region; 20, marked (Rp), in the zone of Exogyra 
ponderosa of the Ripley formation; and 10, marked (Eb), in the 
underlying basal beds of the Eutaw formation. The questionably 
identified form, Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad, although not cer^ 
tainly identical with the species described by Conrad from Snow Hill, 
belongs to a flat type of the genns which does not appear to range 
above the zone of Exogyra ponderosa , and is included in the preceding 
list because of the value in correlation which this restriction in range 
gives it. 

The 30 species which have been found as high as the zone of Exo¬ 
gyra costata need not be further considered since their great vertical 
range renders them of no value in the finer discrimination of age re¬ 
lationships. Twenty-seven of the 57 species are in this region, re¬ 
stricted below the zone of Exogyra costata of the Ripley formation. 
The table given below indicates the range of these 27 species, both 
within and without the Chattahoochee region. 


EUTAW FORMATION 


147 


lable showing ranges of the Tombigbee species which in the Chatta- 
wodiee region are restricted below the zone of Exogyra costata . 


o c 

<44 O 

£‘S) 

3 0> 
M 0) 
]TX, 
y 

° 2 
73 O 

'o -5 

y C3 

J3 

4-> 

ra _C 
73 p: 

CQ | 


>» 

ju 

[ft 

S • 

c 
a> o 

5 bo 

o *“ 
m y 

o x 

o o 

<e r- 

si 

^5 c3 

IS 

b ®; 

u X 


y 

C d 
o c 

A ^ 

3 c3 
73 —1 


y ~ 

y' 

c c 
o.2 

IT be- 
o y » 

5; >4 ft 

-y'» 
y y .2 

2x <« 

X y 73 

6 2s 
y 2 s 


cs cs 

•s5is 
S 2 c 

™x y 

“o y 

® A 

2^ 73 
_ bo^j y 

■g" !«■§ 
oc 

H 


Hamulus major Gabb. 

Nucula sp. nov. (cf. sp. nov. from Snow 

Hill, N. C.). 

Cucullaea carolinensis Gabb. 

Breviarca umbonata (Conrad) 

Nemodon sp. nov. (Blufftown, etc.) ! ! ! 

Barbatia lintea Conrad. 

Perna sp. nov. (Broken Arrow Bend, etc.) x 

Ostrea cretacea Morton. x 

Ostrea sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from 

Blue Banks Landing, N. C.).| 

Gryphaea aucella Roemer.| 

Exogyra ponderosa Roemer. 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata 

Stephenson . 

Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb. 

Pecten sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from 

Snow Hill, N. C.). x 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from 

Snow Hill, N. C.).x 

Liopistha alternata Weller. 

Liopistha sp. nov. (aff. L. alternata Wel¬ 
ler) . 

Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad .... 

Arena carolinensis Conrad. 

Lucina glebula Conrad. 

Cyclothyris lata Conrad. j 

Schizodesma appressa Gabb. 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad.x 

Dentalium sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. 

from Owl Creek, Miss.). 

Turritella quadrilira Johnson. 

Nautilius sp. nov. (large, Blufftown, etc.) 
Mortoniceras sp. (aff. M. texana Roemer 
and M. delawarensis Morton). 


x 

« i 

C/5 <j 

u 

11 

£$f 

o c 
Sy 

y y 

>x 
o 2 

•S 8 
rt x . 
Sis ft 
o a 

N S'S 

Cn“ 

£<44.2 

y 

® <D c 
=4 2 £ 

o o J 
X NX 

W 


x 


X 

X 


X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 


X 


X 

X 

X 

X? 

X? 


X. 
X 
X 


a> 

CO 

y 

y 

•“9 

£ 

y 

£ 


ft 

3 

o 

E 

bo 

c 

03 

£ 

5 

d 

s 


x 


X : x‘ 


X‘ 


Occurs in the Marshalltown clay-marl of the Matawan formation. 

2 0ccurs in the Merchantville clay-marl, the Woodbury clay, and the Wenonah sand of 
the Matawan formation. 

3 0ccurs in the Merchantville clay-marl of the Matawan formation. 

4 0ccurs in the Wenonah sand of the Matawan formation. 

5 Probably same as Corbula bisulcata Conrad which occurs in the Magothy formation, 
and the Merchantville clay-marl and the Woodbury clay of the Matawan formation. 
6 0ccurs in the Woodbury clay of the Matawan formation. 

7 Occurs in the Merchantville clay-marl of the Matawan formation. 







































































148 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Of the 27 species given in the table 10 occur in that part of the 
overlying Ripley formation included within the zone of Exogyra pon- 
derosa, live occur beneath the Tombigbee sand in the basal beds of the 
Eutaw formation, and 15 are restricted to the Tombigbee sand 
member. 

To the westward of the Chattahoochee region in Alabama and Miss¬ 
issippi, seven of the 15 restricted species are known to occur in the 
Mortoniceras sub-zone of the Tombigbee sand, seven are known in that 
part of the zone of Exogyra ponderosa overlying the Mortoniceras 
sub-zone, and two in the zone of Exogyra costata (Ripley formation 
of northern Mississippi). The small number of forms common to the 
Tombigbee sand of the Chattahoochee region, and to the same mem¬ 
ber to the westward in Alabama and Mississippi, is to be explained by 
the fact that in the Chattahoochee region the member is far more 
prolific in species than elsewhere in the eastern Gulf region; and 
this palentologic difference appears to be reflected in the lithology, in 
that the Tombigbee of the Chattahoochee region contains a much 
higher percentage of calcite than does the typical Tombigbee to the 
westward. 

The forms that are believed to indicate the correspondence in age 
of the beds under consideration with the Tombigbee sand to the west¬ 
ward in Alabama, and in the type region in Mississippi, are the fol¬ 
lowing: Liopistha alternata Weller, Nautilus sp. nov. (large), and 
Mortoniceras sp. (aff. M. texana Roemer). 

These forms are not known above the Mortoniceras sub-zone in the 
region, and the Nautilus and Mortoniceras are distributed generally 
in this horizon from Montgomery, Ala., to Aberdeen, Miss. It is con¬ 
sidered probable that the genus Mortoniceras does not occur in the 
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain in beds higher than this horizon. 

Of the 15 species restricted to the Tombigbee sand in the Chatta¬ 
hoochee region, seven occur in the invertebrate-bearing beds forming 
the upper part of the Black Creek formation of the Carolinas, and 
none in the Peedee sand. The three specimens given above as 
characteristic of the Tombigbee sand, however, have not been found 
in the Black Creek beds, and their absence together with the fact that 
the Black Creek fauna corresponds closely to that of the overlying 
Exogyra ponderosa zone of the Ripley formation in the Chattahoochee 
region, is taken as evidence that the Tombigbee sand is slightly lower 
stratigraphically than the invertebrate-bearing Black Creek beds, or, 
in other words, that it is represented by a part of the non-invertebrate^ 
bearing beds of the Black Creek formation below the beds carrying 
invertebrates. 

Of the 15 forms restricted to the Tombigbee sand member in the 


RIPLEY FORMATION 


149 


Chattahoochee region, two occur in the Magothy formation and four 
in the Matawan group of New Jersey. Of the four occurring in the 
IVlatawan group one, Liopistlia alternate Weller, occurs only in the 
Merchantville clay marl, the basal formation of the group. Morton- 
iceras is represented in the New Jersey Cretaceous by Mortoniceras 
delawarensis (Morton), which is restricted to the Merchantville 
clay marl. The presence in this formation of Liopistha alternata 
VY eiler, and the presence of Mortoniceras which in the eastern Gulf 
Cretaceous is not known to range above the Tombigbee sand member, 
are considered evidence that the formation is approximately syn¬ 
chronous with the Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw formation. 
It will be observed that not one of the 15 restricted forms occur in 
the Monmouth formation of New Jersey. 

Three species of vertebrate animals have been recognized from the 
Tombigbee sand of the Chattahoochee region. These are teeth of the 
shaiks, Corax falcatus Agassiz, Lamna texana Roeiner, and Otodus 
sp. ? The two former are wide-ranging forms and are of no correla¬ 
tive value, and the latter is not sufficiently well identified for its value 
in correlation to be known. 

The conclusions deduced from the above statements of range may 
be summarized as follows: 

The Tombigbee sand of the Chattahoochee region while containing 
many species in common with the overlying Ripley beds, nevertheless 
contains a few forms of restricted vertical range and extended geo¬ 
graphic range, possessing great value in close correlation. On the 
evidence of these few forms the Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw 
formation in the Chattahoochee region is correlated with the Tom¬ 
bigbee sand of the type region in Mississippi, and especially with the 
Mortoniceras sub-zone of that member. Referred to the Carolina Cre¬ 
taceous the member is believed to be synchronous with a portion of 
the Black Creek formation beneath the invertebrate-bearing beds of 
that formation. In New Jersey the Merchantville clay marl is be¬ 
lieved approximately to represent the Tombigbee member. 

A diagrammatic representation of the age relationships of the 
Eutaw beds of the Chattahoochee region to Cretaceous deposits else¬ 
where in the eastern Gulf region and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, is 
given in Plate Y. 

RIPLEY FORMATION 

NAME 

The name Ripley is derived from the town of Ripley, in Tippah 
County, Miss., and was originally proposed as the name of a geologic 
division by Dr. Eugene W. Hilgard 1 in 1860. The town of Ripley 

1 Geology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi: Jackson, Miss., 1860, pp. 62, 
■83-95. 



150 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


is situated upon Eocene strata which were erroneously referred by 
Hilgard to the Cretaceous. However, Cretaceous beds appear in the 
banks of Tippah Creek within one-half mile of town, where they are 
overlain by Eocene (Midway) limestone. This error was corrected 
by G. D. Harris 1 in 1896. Layers 1, 2, and 3 of the section given by 
Hilgard, 2 on Tippah Creek near Ripley, belong to the Cretaceous. 
Concerning the distribution of the beds of this formation Hilgard 
says: 

“These strata from the Pontotoc Ridge in Mississippi, and Chunnenugga 
Ridge in southeast Alabama; according to the late researches by Conrad, 
they also exist at Eufaula, Ala.” 

Exposures of Ripley strata in the bluffs of Owl Creek, three miles 
northeast of Ripley, have been rendered classic by the paleontologic 
researches of T. A. Conrad. 3 

Although the equivalency of the Cretaceous beds exposed on Chat¬ 
tahoochee River at Eufaula, to the Cretaceous beds in Tippah County, 
Miss., was recognized by Conrad 4 5 in 1860, the first investigator to 
refer this whole series of Ripley beds along the Chattahoochee River 
to this division, was D. W. Langdon.' He included in his Ripley 
group an additional 120 feet of strata at the base of the series which 
in this report are, on paleontologic evidence, referred to the Tombig- 
bee member of the underlying Eutaw formation. 


DEFINITION. 

Areal distribution .—The Ripley formation is exposed on Chatta¬ 
hoochee River in the upper part of the bluff at Blufftown, thirty-one 
and one-quarter miles below Columbus, Ga., and in the bluffs from 
Florence, in Stewart County, Ga., to a point not accurately deter¬ 
mined near Othos Landing, Ala., about 15 miles below Eufaula. It 
extends northeastward from the river through Georgia in a belt 10 to 
14 miles wide, including parts of the following counties: Clay, Quit- 
man, Stewart, Webster, Chattahoochee, Marion, Schley, Taylor, 
Macon, Crawford, Houston, Bibb, and Twiggs. In Twiggs, Houston, 
southwestern Crawford, and eastern Macon counties, the formation is 
concealed by a relatively thin blanket of overlapping younger strata, 
referable in part, or perhaps in whole, to the Eocene epoch, except 
where the latter have been removed by stream erosion. 

West of Chattahoochee River in Alabama the formation appears in 
an area south of that occupied by the Eutaw formation, having a 
maximum width of 25 or 30 miles, and including parts of Russell, 


J The Midway stage: Bull. Amer. Palcon.. Vol. 1, No. 4, 1896, pp. 22-25 (136-139), 

2 G-eology and agriculture of the State of Mississippi ; Ja_ckson, Miss., 1860, p. 87, 

Observations on a group of Cretaceous fossil shells, found in Tipoah County, Miss., 
with descriptions of fifty-six new species: Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., n. s., vol. 
3. 1855-58, pp. 323-336, plates 34 and 35. „ ___ OAO 

4 Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., n. s. vol. 4, 1858-1860, pp. 275-298. 

5 Bull Geol. Soc. America, vol. 2, 1891, pp. 587-606. 



RIPLEY FORMATION 


151 


Barbour, Macon, Bullock, Bike, Montgomery, Butler, Lowndes, 
Dallas, Perry, and Marengo counties. The western boundary of the 
formation is determined by the horizontal mergence of the beds in 
that direction into the beds of the Selma chalk. 

Stratigraphic position .—In western Georgia and in Alabama the 
formation rests with conformable relations upon the Eutaw forma¬ 
tion. From Taylor County eastward to the eastern limits of its oc¬ 
currence in Twiggs County, the Ripley beds rest unconformably upon 
Lower Cretaceous strata. The formation is overlain unconformably 
in both Alabama and Georgia by Eocene strata. This unconformity 
is an important one and probably represents a long period of time. 
This is evidenced by the great faunal change which took place during 
the interval, few if any species having survived from Cretaceous 
to Eocene time. 

In Macon, Houston, and southeastern Crawford counties the for¬ 
mation is concealed throughout considerable : reas in which it would 
otherwise appear at the surface, by a relatively thin overlap of strata 
believed to be referable to the Eocene. In Twiggs County the for¬ 
mation passes finally beneath, and is completely overlapped and 
buried by Eocene deposits. 

In narrow areas bordering Chattahoochee, Flint, and Ocmulgee 
rivers the formation is overlain by thin, surficial terrace deposits of 
Pleistocene age. 

Lithologic characters .—With the exception of portions of the upper 
parts of the high bluffs at Blufftown and at Stewart’s Ilill,the ma¬ 
terials of this formation exposed in the immediate bluffs of Chatta¬ 
hoochee River are all of a strictly marine character. They consist of 
massive, dark gray or greenish gray to black, more or less calcareous, 
micaceous, pyritiferous, and glauconitic sands and clays, with in¬ 
durated ledges of calcareous sandstone or impure sandy limestone at 
vertical intervals of a few feet to 10 feet or more, with, in places, 
interbedded layers of loose, crossbedded, yellowish, calcareous sands 
and shell marls of shallow marine origin. Fossils are common as 
shells or shell prints and at various levels are sufficiently abundant to 
form shell marls. The shallow marine phases contain in places nu¬ 
merous fragmentary bones of dinosaurs, mosausaurs, crocodiles, and 
turtles, together with occasional reptile teeth, great numbers of sharks’ 
teeth of several species, and a few other fish teeth. In the exposures 
in the vicinity of Woolridge Landing these vertebrate remains are 
closely associated with an undescribed species of gigantic oyster, and 
with a large number of other species of mollusks. To the northeast¬ 
ward away from Chattahoochee River in Georgia, the basal portion 


152 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


of the formation embracing 200 or 300 feet of strata merges along 
the strike of the beds into shallow-water equivalents which differ in 
their essential lithologic characters from the typical beds. This is 
the Cusseta sand member described below. The uppermost beds of 
the formation also merge along the strike both to the northeastward 
in Georgia and to the westward in Alabama into the similar shallow- 
water equivalents which are later described as the Providence sand 
member of the formation. 

The Cusseta sand member consists of irregularly bedded, uncon¬ 
solidated sands, with subordinate clay lenses, probably of sound or 
estuarine origin, but perhaps in part of shallow marine origin. They 
outcrop at the surface in a belt which includes parts of the following 
counties: Stewart, Chattahoochee, Marion, Schley, Taylor, Macon, 
Crawford, Houston, Bibb, and Twiggs. In Stewart and Chatta¬ 
hoochee counties the sands vary from fine to coarse in texture, and are 
somewhat arkosic. Farther to the northeast in Marion County the. 
materials become in general coarser, although rather fine phases are 
not uncommon. This same predominance of coarse materials holds 
true throughout the remainder of the area occupied by the member, 
but as in Marion County, finer sands are known to occur locally. The 
clay lenses present in these sands are for the most part light drab, or 
even white, and massive, and in general resemble the more impure 
clays of the Lower Cretaceous. Locally, however, the clays are thinly 
laminated. At a few places carbonaceous clays, both massive and 
laminated, containing considerable percentages of comminuted plant 
remains have been noted, and fossil leaves have been collected at two 
such localities. This non-marine phase of the formation was first 
discriminated by Otto Veatch 1 in 1909, and was designated by him 
the Cusseta sand. The division is here given the rank of member. 
The similarity of the materials of the Cusseta sand member to the 
shallow-water phase of the Eutaw formation in its eastern extension 
renders the two formations separable only with difficulty. The same 
is true of this member with respect to the overlying Providence sand 
member of the Pipley formation in the region between Flint and Oc- 
mulgee rivers. 

The Providence sand member consists predominantly of coarse, ir¬ 
regularly bedded sands with subordinate light-colored clay lenses and 
layers. In Georgia the member outcrops in a long, narrow belt lying 
along the southern border of the Cretaceous area, and including parts 
of Quitman, Stewart, Webster, Marion, Schley, Macon, Houston, 
and Twiggs counties. In Alabama it is present along the southern 

1 Second report on the clay deposits of Georgia : Bull. Geol. Survey of Ga. No. 18; 
1909, pp. 82-90. 



RIPLEY FORMATION 


153 


border of the Cretaceous area in parts, of Barbour, Bullock, and Pike 
counties. 

Although the sands are in general coarse there are finer phases and 
this is especially true of the beds towards the base of the member, or 
the zone of transition from the underlying typical marine beds to 
the overlying coarser beds of this member. Rolled clay balls are nu¬ 
merous at many places in the sands. In Houston County the mem¬ 
ber contains notable lenses of white clays which have been mined in 
a small way and which give promise of becoming of commercial im¬ 
portance in the future. 

The typical marine beds, the “Renfroes marl” of Veatch, which in¬ 
tervenes between the Cusseta and Providence members, is traceable 
as a narrow belt from the Chattahoochee region through Stewart, 
Chattahoochee, Marion, and Schley counties, to Macon County, where 
they appear to pinch out, so far as surface outcrops are concerned, 
between the underlying and overlying shallow-water members. Be¬ 
yond this point to the eastern limit of the surface occurrence of the 
formation the two members, each of which has gradually increased 
its thickness in this direction, are in conformable contact with each 
other, an'd together appear to represent the whole thickness of the for¬ 
mation. However, there is evidence that buried representatives of the 
typical marine beds extend eastward, at least as far as Marshallville, 
where calcareous beds have been penetrated in a well boring. The 
Providence sand was differentiated and named bv Otto Veatch 1 in 
1909. 

Strike, dip, and thickness .—The beds of this formation have in 
Oeorgia a general northeast-southwest strike. To the west in Ala¬ 
bama the strike is nearly due east and west. 

That portion of Langdon’s 2 Chattahoochee River section, referred 
in this report to the Ripley formation, includes layers Hos. 14 to 38. 
the thicknesses given by him total 948 feet. The beds outcrop at zero 
water level along the river in an air-line distance across the strike of 
about 29 miles. The average dip required to produce in this distance 
the thickness estimated by Langdon is 32 feet to the mile. In order 
to determine the correct average dip it would be necessary .to make a 
large number of dip observations. It is known, however, that the 
beds undulate, the dip being less in places and elsewhere amounting to 
as much as 40 feet to the mile. In the absence pf the data necessary 
for an accurate calculation of the thickness, Langdon’s figure may be 
regarded as a probable close approximation to the true amount. 

*Op. cit., pp. 82-90. 

Geological Survey of Alabama, Geology of the Coastal Plain of Alabama, 1894, pp. 
439-445. 



154 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


A well at Buena Vista, Marion County, penetrated strata believed 
to be referable to this information, to a depth of 583 feet. dSTo other 
wells properly located, or of sufficient depth, to give an idea of the 
thickness of the terrane, have been drilled along the belt of its oc¬ 
currence, but it is probable that it maintains approximately this thick¬ 
ness to the eastern limits of its areal extent. However, to the south 
of the belt of outcrop at Albany, in Dougherty County, Ga., Tertiary 
and Cretaceous strata were penetrated in a well to a depth of 1,320 
feet. The upper 500 feet of the section is referred to the Tertiary. 
The remainder of the strata, 820 feet, should probably be referred 
in their entirety to the Ripley formation. Besides the Albany well 
a well at Blakely, Early County, drilled to a depth of 812 feet, passed 
entirely through the overlying Tertiary strata and entered the Rip¬ 
ley formation at less than 500 feet below the surface, the exact depth 
at which the Ripley was first encountered, however, being unknown. 

Physiographic expression —The general upland surface through¬ 
out the areal extent of this formation is a dissected plain, ranging 
from 400 to 600 feet above sea level. Topographically the region 
may be said to have advanced to the stage approaching that of ma¬ 
turity, the surface, therefore, being broken and hilly. The forma¬ 
tion througout the greater part of its areal extent in Georgia is com¬ 
posed predominantly of beds of a sandy character. A thin, surficial 
blanket of loose, gray sand, resulting from the weathering and leach¬ 
ing of these sand beds, is almost universally present. In Macon, 
Crawford, and Houston counties the formation is concealed over 
considerable areas by a thin overlap of red, ferruginous sand of prob¬ 
ably Eocene age. Where the latter is present, and especially in the 
region surrounding Fort Valley, the surface is remarkably level, and 
is in strong contrast to the remainder of the belt. In narrow areas 
bordering Chattahoochee, Flint, and Ocmulgee rivers the valley 
sides have been modified by terracing processes. 

Paleontologic characters. —As previously explained, the typical ma¬ 
rine beds of this formation contain in many layers an abundance of 
fossil invertebrate remains, and scattered fragmentary remains of 
vertebrates. 

The formation in the Chattahoochee region is divisible on the basis 
of the ranges of the contained species of Exogyra into two parts. The 
lower, embracing approximately the lower one-third to one-half of the 
terrane, is characterized by the presence of Exogyra ponderosa 
Roemer; the upper, embracing the remainder of the formation is 
characterized by the presence of Exogyra costata Say. The foipner 
is given the name Exogyra ponderosa zone, and to the latter Exogyra 
costata zone. 


RIPLEY FORMATION 


155 


Since the species Exogyra ponderosa occurs also in the underlying 
Tombigbee sand member of the Eutaw formation the Exogyra pon¬ 
derosa zone includes this member also. 

The formation contains a large number of invertebrate species 
which range from the base, or even below the base of the terrane, to 
its top; but there are in addition numerous species with restricted 
ranges, some confined above and some below the horizon separating 
the two zones. 


DETAILED SECTIONS. (PART OS’ FORMATION INCLUDED WITHIN THE ZONE 
OF EXOGYRA POXDEROSA.) 

Chattahoochee River (typical marine beds).—The Ripley forma¬ 
tion is exposed on Chattahoochee River in the upper part of the sec¬ 
tion at Blufftown, 31% miles below Columbus, Ga., in Stewart 
County, Ga., and in bluffs from Florence, 42 miles below Columbus, 
to a point near Othos Landing, Ala., not exactly determined, about 
15 miles below Eufaula, a total distance by the river of about 44 
miles. (For the location of the exposures described, see sketch map 
of the river, figure 6, p. 79.) 

The details of the exposure at Blufftown have been described in a 
section on page 134 of this report. The upper 100 feet of the section 
is believed to represent the Cusseta sand member of the formation. 
The next 50 feet, consisting of gray, calcareous, marine sand, with 
some fossils, is the upper part of the “Blufftown marl ’ of Veatch, 
and constitutes the basal portion of the Ripley formation of this 
report. The following fossils were obtained near the top of this 
50-foot division: Ostrea plumosa Morton, Exogyra sp. (young indi¬ 
vidual with costa?), Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow 

Hill, H. C.) . . l 1 . 

This gray sand is similar physically to the materials lower down 
in the section, but the latter contain some fossils which in the light of 
our present knowledge of their range do not occur at horizons higher 
than the Tombigbee sand or the extreme base of the Selma chalk. 

Below Blufftown to a point two miles below Omaha the river bluffs 
reveal the beds of the Tombigbee sand member only. From here to 
Florence there are no exposures, but at the latter place the following 
section appears: 

Section at Florence, Chattahoochee River, left hanlc, miles below 

Columbus. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) ._, 

3. Yellowish sandy clay and sand with gravel band ^ ^ ^ 

at base.• .. 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper .Cretaceous 

Ripley formation (Exogyra ponderosa zone). 



156 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


2. Gray to greenish gray, marine sands and clays, 
more or less glauconitic, micaceous, and calca¬ 
reous in the different layers. Several rows of 
calcareous concretions occur near the base. 

Fossiliferous in lower five or six feet. Shells 

very soft. 20 to 25 

1. Laminated sands and clays with lenses of gray, 

yellow, and brown sands and seams of lignite . 10 

The bluff at this place is about one-half mile long, and in this dis¬ 
tance the bedding plains are seen to dip gently southward. Of the 
fossils collected here the following were identified. 

Chattahoochee River, bluff at Florence, Stewart County, Ga. L. W. 

Stephenson, collector. 


Locality Number. 


5395 


6404 


Vermes:. 

Hamulus onyx Morton 
Mollusca: . 


Nucula percrassa Conrad .. 

Leda longifrons Conrad ?.] 

Trigonoarca sp.. . ] 

Area ? .' 

Barbatia (Polynema) lintea Conrad. 

Barbatia sp.[ * 

Ostrea sp.| j ’ 

Ostrea sp. nov. (same as large species at Woolridge 

Landing) . 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata Stephenson *. 
Trigonia sp. nov. (same as at Snow Hill, N. C.) . . 

Anomia argentaria Morton. 

Crassatellites sp. nov. (cf. C. pteropsis Conrad) ’. 

Cardium eufaulense Conrad. 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad.1 

Aphrodina regia Conrad. 

Cyclothyris alta Conrad. 

Cymbophora lintea Conrad. 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad.> . . 

Undetermined pelecypods. 

Vertebrata: 

Crocodilian teeth. 

Lamna sp. 


x 

x 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 


X 


X 


X 


Two miles below Florence, 44 miles below Columbus, right bank, 
there is exposed at the foot of a bluff, 25 or 30 feet of dark gray, 
micaceous, marine clay. A layer of lime concretions occurs about 12 
or 15 feet above the base. Fossils, mostly fragile and in a frag¬ 
mentary condition, occur near zero water level. The horizon is prob¬ 
ably about the same as that at Florence. 







































RIPLEY FORMATION 


157 


About 46 miles below Columbus there appears at the base of a bluff 
10 or 12 feet of dark gray, compact, marine clay with several layers 
of slightly indurated light gray sand, each about six inches in thick¬ 
ness. Fragmentary shells occur near water level. 

In the vicinity of Woolridge Landing, 46% miles below Columbus, 
13^/2 miles above Eufaula, Ala., there are several interesting ex¬ 
posures. A short distance above the landing on the opposite side of 
the river, left bank, the bluff presents the following section: 

Section opposite Woolridge Landing, Chattahoochee River. 

Pleistocene (first Pleistocene terrace.) Feet. 

5. Not well exposed, but mostly yellow sand .... 15 

(Unconformity) 

Upper Cretaceous 

Ripley formation ( Exogyra ponderosa zone). 

4. Greenish gray, very glauconitic sand, with some 


indurated layers. 10 

3. Yellow, laminated, loose sand, and dark drab clay. 

A layer of decayed shells, among them some 

large oysters, occurs along the top. 15 


2. Dark gray shell marl with gray sand matrix. The 
most conspicuous fossil, a large undescribed 
species of oyster. Other fossils are: Trigonia, 


Cyprimeria densata (Conrad) sharks teeth 
(numerous), crocodilian teeth, bones, etc. . . 3 

1. Dark gray, argillaceous, micaceous, marine sand, 

with dark clay streaks. 3 


Just below Woolridge Landing, right bank, the bluff reveals strata 
as described in the following section: 

Section helow Woolridge Landing , right bank, Chattahoochee River 

Pleistocene (second terrace). Feet. 

5. Pebbly sand, not well exposed.about . 25 

Concealed by talus, but probably Cretaceous . 15 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. ( Exogyra ponderosa zone.) 

4. Dark gray, compact, argillaceous, finely micaceous, 
calcareous, glauconitic sand. One small speci¬ 
men of Exogyra sp. with costae obtained near 

base ^0 

3. Yellow, rather loose, sandy shell marl with some 
dark drab clay laminae. Contains soft shells, 
including Exogyra, Anomia, Cardium, Trigonia . 
a large undescribed oyster, etc. Also sharks 

teeth, crocodilian teeth and bones. 20 

2. Shell marl with gray sand matrix. Shells very 
soft. About three feet above base a discontinu¬ 
ous layer of large massive oysters, some speci¬ 
mens of which have a measured length of 17.5 

inches. j? 

1. Dark gray, micaceous, argillaceous, marine sand . o 

From the marl, layer No. 2, in the preceding section the following 
forms were identified: 








158 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Chattahoochee River, Woolridge Landing , 46^/2 miles below Co¬ 
lumbus, ISy* miles above Eufaula, in Barbour County, Ala. L. W. 
Stephenson, collector. 



Locality 

Numbers 


5376 

6402 • 

Vermes: 



Serpula sp. 

X 

X 

Hamulus ? . 

X 


Mollusca: 



Nucula percrassa Conrad. 

X 

X 

Cucullaea carolinensis (Gabb). 

X 


Trigonoarca sp. nov. (cf. with sp. nov. from Kerrs 

• 


Cove, Black River, N. C.). 


X 

Breviarca saffordi (Gabb) ?. 

X 

X 

Nemodon brevifrons Conrad. 


X 

Area sp. (cf. A. uniopsis Conrad). 


X 

Glycymeris sp. (cf. G. congesta (Conrad) ). 


X 

Glycymeris sp. 


X 

Inoceramus sp. 

X 


Ostrea tecticosta Gabb. 

X 

Ostrea plumosa Morton. 


X 

Ostrea sp. nov. (very large). 

X 

X 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata Stephenson . . 

X 


Exogyra sp. (medium sized individual with costae) . 


X 

. Trigonia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, 



N. C.) . 


X 

Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb ?. 

X 


Pecten sp. ?. 


X 

Plicatula sp. 

X 


Anomia lintea Conrad. 


X 

Veniella conradi (Morton). 


X 

Crassatellites sp. nov. 

X 

X 

Crassatellites sp. (cf. C. carolinensis Conrad) .... 


X 

Lucina glebula Conrad. 

X 


Cardium eufaulense Conrad. 


X 

Isocardia cliffwoodensis Weller ?. 


X 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad. 

X 

X 

Aphrodina regia Conrad.-. . 

X 


Cyclothyris alta Conrad. 


X 

Legumen planulatum (Conrad). 


X 

Baroda carolinensis Conrad. 


X 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad). 


X 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad . 

X 

X 

Gyrodes crenata Conrad .'. 

X 


Pugnellus densatus Conrad. 


X 

Undetermined gastropods. 

X 


Vertebrata: 



Lamna texana Roemer. 

X? 

X 

Corax falcatus Agassiz . 

X? 

X 

Otodus sp. 

X? 

X 

Ischyrhiza mira Leidy (identified by J. W. Gidley) . 

X 


Thecachampsa rugosa Emmons (identified by C. W 



Giimore) .... 

X 


Polydectes biturgidus Cope (identified by C. W. Gil- 



more . 

X 























































RIPLEY FORMATION 


159 


At “Roanoke Island,” a short distance below Woolridge Landing, 
Capt. J. W. Singleton, Superintendent, U. S. Engineers, obtained 
from dredged materials tbe vertebrate remains listed below. The 
island referred to no longer exists, having been destroyed by river 
currents. 


Chattahoochee River, between Upper and Lower Roods Bend, and 
just above mouth of Soapstone Creek. Capt. J. W. Singleton, col¬ 
lector . Identified by C. W. Gilmore. 

Various fragments of the turtle, Taphrosphys (?) 

Fragment of dinosaur limb bone 

Vertebra of mosasauroid reptile 

Tooth of large crocodilian, probably Polydectes 

Coprolites 


One mile below Woolridge Landing at Lower Roods Bend, the fol¬ 
lowing section is well exposed: 

Section at Lower Roods Bend, 17 1/2 miles below Columbus, 12 1/2 
miles above Eufaula, left bank. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit). Feet. 

3. Unconsolidated, yellowish sand, loamy in upper 
part and with a band of pebbles and cobbles 

along tbe base. 25 

(Unconformity) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. ( Exogyra ponderosa zone.) 

2. Dark gray, massive, marine sand. One specimen 
full of soft shells. Same as marl, layer No. 3 
of Gryphuea vesicularis Lamarck obtained . . 20 

1 Dark gray, micaceous, argillaceous, sandy marl 
full of soft shells. Same as marl, layer No. 2 
at Woolridge Landing section. 10 


From the marl at the base of the preceding section, layer No. 1,-the 
following species were recognized: 


Locality No. 6101.—Chattahoochee River, left bank, Roods Lower 
Bend just below the mouth of Soapstone Creek, l®y 2 mlles a:bove 
Eufaula, Stewart County, Ga. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


Molluca: 

Nucula percrassa Conrad 
Leda sp. 

Trigonoarca sp. nov. (large) 

Glycymeris sp. 

Ostrea plumosa Morton 
Ostrea sp. nov. (large) 

Trigonia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N C.) 
Pecten sp. nov. (same as species from Snow Hill N. C.) 
Anomia argentaria Morton 
Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad? 

Cardium eufaulense Conrad 




160 . 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PI^AIN 


Aphrodina regia Conrad 
Cyclothyris alta Conrad 
neptosolen biplicata Conrad 
Corbula carolinensis Conrad 
Vertebrata: 

Lamna texana Roemer 
Corax falcatus Agassiz 
Otodus ? 

About three-quarters of a mile below Lower Roods Bend, the top 
jf the marl bed just described is seen to pass finally beneath water 
level. 

Along the outside of the broad bend on the Georgia side of the river 
between 48 and 49 miles below .Columbus, a bluff presents a nearly 
vertical wall, 40 or 50 feet in height, of dark green, compact, argil¬ 
laceous, marine sand. Although no fossils were obtained from them, 
these beds are tentatively regarded as forming the upper part of the 
Exogyra ponderosa zone of the Ripley formation. The top of this 
zone is believed to pass beneath water level between this bend and the 
mouth of Cowikee Creek, the materials exposed on this creek, a short 
distance above the mouth, being regarded as forming the base of the 
overlying Exogyra costata zone. 

Northeast of Chattahoochee River (typical marine beds).—The 
upper part of the section near Jamestown postoffice in Chattahoochee 
County, 18 miles south of Columbus, Ga. (see section on p. 138 of this 
report), including layers Nos. 6 to 12 inclusive, is probably referable 
to the lower part of the Ripley formation. In stratigraphic position 
these beds are believed to correspond approximately to layer No. 3 
of the section at Blufftown on Chattahoochee River (see p. 134 of 
this report.) This is the farthest'point to the northeastward that 
basal marine beds of the formation have been traced in Georgia. Be¬ 
yond this point the basal beds appear to merge rapidly into materials 
of the Cusseta sand type. 

Marine beds overlying the Cusseta sand member, and probably 
occupying positions near the top of the zone of Exogyra ponderosa, 
have been examined at several places northeast of the river as follows: 

In a cut of the Seaboard Air Line Railway at Manta (Hicliitee 
P. O.) in Chattahoochee County, weathered, marine materials make 
up the upper seven feet of the beds exposed and similar materials 
are poorly exposed on the hill-slope south of the cut, the whole -total¬ 
ing a thickness of about 27 feet. Although no fossils were found in 
these materials they are thought to belong to the upper part of the 
zone, in question (see section, p. 162.) 

Four miles northeast of Buena Vista on the road leading to Taze¬ 
well, where it ascends the southward-facing slope of Richland Creek 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XIV. 



A. EXPOSURE IN GULLY IN BUENA VISTA-TAZEWELL ROAD, SIX MILES 
NORTHEAST OF BUENA VISTA, MARION COUNTY, GA., SHOWING 
LEAF-BEARING CLAY LENS IN CUSSETA SAND MEMBER 
OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 



B. “SAND STREAM,” ONE MILE NORTH OF TAZEWELL. MARION COUNTY, GA., 
THE SAND HAS BEEN TRANSPORTED BY TORRENTS FROM GULLIES 
IN THE CUSSETA SAND MEMBER 










RIPLEY FORMATION 


161 


^ there is in the road ditch near the base of the hill an exposure 
of 12 or 15 feet of dark gray, fine, argillaceous, marine sand bearing 
fossil casts. On the basis of the contained fossils this horizon is 
correlated approximately with the marl beds exposed at the bases of 
the bluffs on Roods Bend, Chattahoochee River (see pp. 135, 136 of 
this report.) The following forms were recognized: 

Locality JS o. 5381.—Buena Vistcu-Tazewell rodd, about four miles 
northeast of Buena \ ista, Ga ., on southivard-facing slope of Richland 
Creek Valley. (All casts.) L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

Vermes: 

Serpula sp. 

Mollusca: 

Exogyra sp. (cast of young with costae) 

Ostrea sp. (large cast probably same as sp. nov. from Woolridge Land¬ 
ing.) 

Pecten quinquenarius Conrad 

Veniella lineata (Shumard) ? 

Crassatellites sp. (same as sp. nov. from Woolridge Landing, Chatta¬ 
hoochee River.) 

Cyprimeria densata Conrad 

Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 

Cyclothyris ? 

Aphrodina sp. 

A section on the Buena Vista-Tazewell road six miles northeast of 
Buena Vista has already been given on page 139 of this report. The 
upper 70 feet of the section, consisting of weathered, brownish, ma¬ 
rine sand, is believed to fall w;ithin the upper part of the zone of 
Exogyra ponderosa. This sand rests upon the coarse, unconsolidated 
sands of the Cusseta sand member of the Ripley formation. The con¬ 
tact separating the two kinds of materials is somewhat obscured by 
weathering process and by surface creep, but the relation appears to 
be that of conformity. 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers (Cusseta 
sand member).—From Chattahoochee River northeastward in Geor¬ 
gia, the basal portion of the Ripley formation loses its deeper 
marine character, being replaced by unconsolidated, coarser, more 
irregularly bedded sands and clays of shallow marine or estuarine 
origin. These near-shore deposits have been designated by Veatch 1 
the Cusseta sand, from Cusseta, Chattahoochee County, in the vi¬ 
cinity of which they are typically developed. 

The materials referred to this member first make their appearance 
in the high bluff at Blufftown on Chattahoochee River, a section of 
which is given on page 134 of this report. The upper 100 feet of 
this section (layer No. 4) is thus referred. 

J Clay Report: Geol. Survey of Ga., Bull. Iso. 18, 1009. p. S8. 



162 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Exposures of the beds between Cusseta and Manta, a distance of 
five and one-balf miles, in wbat must be considered the type region, 
are described below: 

A shallow cut of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, in front of the 
court bouse at Cusseta, reveals five feet of loose, gray, sharp, rather 
coarse sand, grading down into compact, reddish sand of the same 
character, the latter about five feet in thickness. The gray sand is 
believed to have been derived from the underlying red sand by 
leaching. 

A number of cuts 10 to 15 feet in depth, eastward from Cusseta 
for a distance of two and three-quarter miles, exhibits sections essen¬ 
tially the same as the preceding, the gray surface sands varying in 
depth from four to eight feet. 

Three miles east of Cusseta, at milepost 22 (from Columbus), a 
12-foot cut reveals reddish, mottled, coarse, ferruginous, argillaceous 
sand reaching a maximum thickness of 10 feet, overlying conform¬ 
ably undulating laminated drab clay and red ferruginous sand beds. 
The undulations in the stratification lines show differences of level 
of seven or eight feet in a horizontal distance of 40 or 50 feet. 
(See plate XIII, B.) 

Four miles east of Cusseta the railroad crosses a gully which runs 
from south to north, at the head of which the following succession 
of beds is exposed: 

Section in gully four miles east of Cusseta } Ca., neat Seaboard Air 
Line Railway trach. 


Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

5. Loose, gray, coarse sand. 4 

4. Ferruginous, coarse, massive sand weathered to a rather 

even, pinkish red color . 15 

3. Laminated, drab clay and red, ferruginous sand. 3 

2. Drab, stratified clay with streaks of yellow. This is a lens 

and is replaced horizontally by sand. 4 

1. White, yellow, and red, fine to medium-grained, slightly 
micaceous, crossbedded sand, with scattered drab clay 
laminae. 14 


Immediately west of the station at Manta (Hichitee P. O.) the 
following section is exposed in a cut: 

Section in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway at Manta Station 
(Hichitee P. 0.), five and one-half miles east of Cusseta, Ga. 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra ponderosa zone). 

(Typical marine sand.) Feet. 

5. Weathered, coarse, red, ferruginous, compact, massive sand. 7 
(Cusseta sand member.) 







RIPLEY FORMATION 


163 


t. Laminated, drab clay, and red and gray, micaceous sand . . 5 

3. Gray, medium to coarse, micaceous sand with scattered drab 

clay balls, the whole mottled with purple. 7 

2. Laminated, drab clay, streaked with yellow . 4 

1. Medium, to very coarse, gray sand, tinted with pink, and 
locally indurated to a purple ferruginous sandstone. 11 


The relation of the Cusseta sand member to the superincumbent 
typical marine beds a$ revealed in the cut, is one of conformity, 
sedimentation having been continuous from the one to the other. 

In Marion County the Cusseta sand member outcrops in a belt 
extending in a northeast-southwest direction, having a width of per¬ 
haps four miles on the western border, and eight or ten miles on 
the eastern border of the county. The materials seem to consist 
almost entirely of unconsolidated sands with subordinate clay lenses. 

The following section was made along the road leading from 
Buena Vista to Tazewell, about six miles northeast df the former 
place: 

Section along Buena Vista-Tazewell road, six miles northeast of 

Buena Vista. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra ponderosa zone.) 

(Typical marine beds.) Feet. 

2. Brownish marine sand (weathered), about. 70 

(Cusseta sand member.) 


1. Coarse, light-colored, crossbedded, arkosic sand, locally fer¬ 
ruginous with iron concretions, with white to black clay 
lenses. The clay lenses, are local in character giving place in 
a short distance to sand. The maximum thickness of clay 
observed is 12 feet. In a lens of black clay near the 'base 
fossil leaves were collected. 50 

I 

The leaf-bearing lens of black clay, described in the preceding 
section, has a thickness of four or five feet (see plate XIV, A.). 
The leaf remains are scattered somewhat sparingly through the clay. 
E. W. Berry, to whom the plants were submitted, recognized the fol¬ 
lowing species: (See also Bull. Torrey Botan. Club Xo. 37, 1910, 
p. 505.) 

Andromeda novae-caesareae Hollick 
Araucaria bladenensis Berry 
Doryanthophyllum cretaceum Berry 
Eucalyptus angusta Velen. 

Ficus sp. nov. 

Manihotoides sp. nov. (same as at McBride Ford) 

Monocotyledon, gen. et sp. nov. (common to the Black Creek and 
Tuscaloosa formations) 

In the vicinity of Tazewell the surface materials consist prin¬ 
cipally of coarse, loose sands apparently derived by weathering from 







164 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


tlie Cusseta sand member. These surface sands are easily trans¬ 
ported, and at times of heavy precipitation have been washed down 
into the small headwater branches forming so-called “sand-streams.” 
(See plate XIV, B.) 

The following is the log of a well owned by B. F. Duke, eight 
miles northeast of Buena Vista, Ga. The owner is authority for 
the lithology: 

Log of well on property of B. F. Duke, eight miles northeast of 

Buena Vista, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

4. Very hard clay. 0 to 12 

3. Yellow sand . 12 “ 92 

2. “Chalk” (clay).92 “ 104 

1. Yellow sand, water-bearing.104 “ 140 


The Cusseta sand member is present in a small area in the north¬ 
ern part of Schley County, but the available data are meager. The 
same division furnishes the surface materials over about the south¬ 
ern two-fifths of Taylor County. Concerning the character of the 
materials Veatch says: (Clay report, p. 224.) 

The sand in the southern part of the county contains noticeably more 
iron and the clay beds are thinner and less pure. A characteristic feature is 
thin crusts of layers, a few inches thick, and large, hollow nodules of silice¬ 
ous limonite; the latter ar.e so abundant in some localities that they may be 
of some value in the future as a source of iron. 

The logs of three wells in this county which are believed to pene¬ 
trate strata of this division are given below: 

Log of well owned by J. L. Whitley , one and one-half miles north 
of Mauk, Ga. (Mouth of well level with the track of the Atlanta, 
Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad.) Authority for lithology, the 
owner. 


Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

7. Sand . 0 to 8 

6. Clay . 8 “ 13 

5. Sand .13 “ 38 

4. “Chalk” (clay).38 “ 42 

3. Sand .42 “ 60 

Eutaw formation ? 

2. Black marly “chalk” (clay). 60 73 

1. “Chalk” (clay) and sand, water-bearing in basal two 

feet .73 125 













RIPLEY FORMATION 


165 


Log of well owned by George Ruffin, one and one-half miles east of 
Mauk, Ga. Authority for lithology, J. A. Steed, Mauk, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

5. Clay. ? 

4. Sand . ? 

3. “Chalk” (clay) and sand. ? 

2. Coarse sand. ? 

1. White pebble rock. ? 


Total .. 90 


Log of well three-eighths of a mile north of Southland, Ga., owned 
by W. G. Hill. Authority for lithology, owner. (Mouth of well 
about 60 feet above track at station.) 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

3. Sand. 0 to 3 

2. “Chalk” (white clay) and clay. 3 to 12 

1. Fine sand of various colors, water-bearing in lower 

two feet. 12 to 75 


Strata belonging to the Cusseta sand member underlie the north¬ 
ern -part of Macon County in an area embracing about one-third 
of the county. In a gully in the high scarp facing Flint River, 
five or six miles west of Marshallville, Ga., over 100 feet of ma¬ 
terials are exposed, consisting of coarse to fine, more or less arkosic, 
crossbedded sand with occasional lenses of light drab clay. The 
sand contains small clay balls in places. About half way to the top 
of the section an indurated ironstone forms a projecting ledge, and 
just below this is a layer of large, mechanically included, clay balls. 
The sands above the indurated layer are more argillaceous than 
those below it. This whole section is believed referable to the 
Cusseta member. 

At Underwood Ferry, Flint River, one and one-half miles below 
the locality described, weathered marine sand, poorly exposed about 
10 feet above water level, contains soft casts of Venericardia plani- 
costa. It is therefore of Eocene age. If the materials in the gully 
just described, one and one-half miles north of this place, are of 
Cretaceous age, as interpreted, there must be a profound uncon¬ 
formity separating the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits, for the dif¬ 
ference in level between the Underwood Ferry exposure and the top 
of the section in the gully must be fully 150 feet. The fossil- 
bearing sand at Underwood Ferry, however, is poorly exposed, and 
there is a possibility of its having slipped down from a higher level. 

There are exposures of coarse sands and light colored clays at a 
water mill about three miles south of Reynolds, Ga., which are be¬ 
lieved referable to this division. 












166 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


About six miles north of Marshallville the following section is 
exposed in gullies on the west side of the road: 

Section about six miles north of Marshallville, on road farthest west 
leading from Marshallville to Everetts Station. 


Upper Cretaceous. • Feet. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

4. Deep red ferruginous sand.. 10 to 15 

3. Coarse to fine, crossbedded, loose sand with thin 
iron crusts, occasional thin clay laminae, and 

in places scattered, small clay balls. 30 

2. Bed of purple, massive clay forming a fairly per¬ 
sistent layer.. 5 to 6 

1. Loose, coarse, crossbedded sand with thin clay 
laminae which are especially numerous in the 
upper portion.' . . . . 15 


One-half mile farther north on the same road a gully on the west 
side, furnishes the following section: 

Section on road farthest west leading from Marshallville to Everetts 
Station, six and one-half miles north of Mai'shallville. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

2. Coarse, red, ferruginous sand, with scattered, 
small quartz pebbles. Appears to grade down 
through a mottled band into the underlying 

material.. 1 15 

1. Fine, yellow, massive, micaceous, somewhat argil¬ 
laceous, fairly compact sand. 20 

The red sands in the upper parts of the two preceding sections 
resemble closely the ferruginous sand formation of supposed Eocene 
age exposed in cuts in the vicinity of Fort Valley and at Zenith, 
and they may represent that formation, although no evidence of an 
unconformity separating them from the underlying materials was 
observed at these localities. 

The following statements concerning the occurrence of Cre¬ 
taceous strata in this county are quoted from Veatch’s clay report: 

“In the northern half of Macon County, there is a belt of Upper Creta¬ 
ceous sands in which pockets and beds of white clay have been found. At 
no place where these have been examined, do they approach in purity and 
thickness the clay beds of the Tuscaloosa [Lower Cretaceous, but not Tusca¬ 
loosa] east of the Ocmulgee River. * * *. 

“Some white-stained clay was noted on the west side of Flint River, north 
of Oglethorpe. A clay bed is exposed in the cut of the Atlanta, Birmingham 
& Atlantic Railroad, near Maverick, and a bed may be seen in the public road 
about three-quarters of a mile west of Maverick, adjoining the property of 
J. M. Childs. The bed at the latter locality is 8 feet thick; it is white with 
purplish and red stains, which seem to penetrate the mass of the clay, and in 
places is quite sandy. * * * 

“There are a large number of exposures of clay in the red sands west 
and northwest of this locality; some of tue exposures noted showing a thick¬ 
ness of 15 feet or more, but all were splotched with iron oxide stains.” 








RIPLEY FORMATION 


A strip of country, several miles wide, along the 
southeastern side of Crawford County, is believed to 
fall within the Cusseta sand belt. As interpreted, 
the member here rests with unconformable relations 
upon Lower Cretaceous beds. This conclusion is 
based upon data obtained from observations in cuts 
of the Southern Railway, just north of Zenith, Ga. 
Over a part of the area, the division is overlain un- 
conformably by a red, ferruginous sand formation, 
the age of which has not been determined, but which 
is probably a northward overlap of one of the Eocene 
formations. 

The graphic section given in margin shows the re¬ 
lations between the formations exposed in the cuts 
near Zenith. 


Explanation of Figure. 

3. Eocene?—Coarse, deep red, ferruginous 
sand, becoming coarser and pebbly in 1 wer 
two feet; the pebbles are of quartz and 
reach a maximum diameter of two inches. 

Along the base occurs a line of irregular, 
partially sUicified white clay fragments 
reaching a maximum diameter of one foot. 

The clay tragments are numerous in places, 
and elsewhere are scattered. (See plate 
XVII, A.) 

(Unconformity.) 

2. Upper Cretaceous.—Ripley formation (Cus¬ 
seta sand member). An irregularly bedded 
formation consisting principally of light 
gray or yellow, fine stratified sand with p 

thin laminae of drab clay and very thin 
iron crusts; but at intervals there occur 
lenses of white or yellow sand in places 
ferruginous; and in places this argillaceous 
content increases forming thinly laminated 
clay beds with fine sand partings; one of 
these clay beds, a in the section, becomes 
very carbonaceous, being filled with scat¬ 
tered particles and seams of comminuted 
plant fragments. 

(Unconformity.) 

1. Lower Cretaceous.—A formation consisting 
principally of coarse, gray sands with im¬ 
portant clay lenses. The cuts toward the 
northern end of the section reveai imme¬ 
diately beneath the contact a bed of mas¬ 
sive clay, light in color, but blotched with 
purple and pink tints. 


Logs of two wells southeast of Zenith which pene¬ 
trate the Cusseta sand have been obtained. The 
owners are authority for the lithology. 


three-quarters of 
























168 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Log of well on property of J. W. George , one-half mile south of 

Leepope, Ga. 


Eocene ? Feet. 

8. Soil. 0 to 2 

7. Stiff red clay. 2 to 22 

Upper Cretaceous 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

6. “Chalk” (clay) and gravel. 22 to 32 

5. Coarse sand and gravel, some water. 32 to 35 

4. Blue “chalk” (clay) . 35 to 47 

3. Coarse brown sand. 47 to 65 

2. White and blue sticky “chalk” (clay). 65 to 68 

1. Fine sand and gravel, water-bearing. 68 to 72 


Log of well on property of Isaac Miller, of Fort Valley, Ga., four 
and one-half miles northwest of Fort Valley, in Crawford County, 
Ga. 


Eocene ? Feet. 

5. Clay. 0 to 25 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). , 

4. Yellow sand. 25 to 75 

3. White sand with some purple sand. 75 to 90 

2. Dark gravel and rocks (pebbles ?). 90 to 100 

Lower Cretaceous ? 

1. “Chalk” (clay) . . . >.100 to 103 


The so-called “chalk” in the above section may correspond to the 
clay at the base of the section in the railway cuts north of Zenith, 
Ga. It is therefore tentatively regarded as Lower Cretaceous. 

Outcrops of the Cusseta sand member occur in the northern part 
of Houston County; but over most of the area the beds are con¬ 
cealed by a comparatively thin, ferruginous sand formation, prob¬ 
ably of Eocene age, and appear only in stream valleys where erosion 
has uncovered them, or in artificial cuttings. A good exposure 
occurs in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railroad, one and one-half 
miles northeast of Fort Valley. The graphic representation of this 
occurrence given below is introduced for the purpose of comparison 
with a similar representation of the occurrences near Zenith, Ga. 
(See p. 143 of this report.) 



Fig. 11.—Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, one and one-half 
miles nortnwest of Fort Vadey, Ga. 


























RIPLEY FORMATION 


169 


Explanation of figure. 

2. Eocene?—Deep red, massive, coarse, highly ferruginous, more 
or less argillaceous sand, much coarser in lower 1 to 2 feet, 
with scattered quartz pebbles reaching several inches in 
diameter. Along the immediate base are occasional par¬ 
tially silicified clay balls reaching a maximum diameter 
of 8 inches, reworked from the underlying beds, and scat¬ 
tered fragments of reworked iron crust. 

(Unconformity, obscured in places by weathering.) 

1. Upper Cretaceous—Ripley formation (Cusseta sand mem¬ 
ber). Light gray, coarse, argillaceous sand with lenses of 
coarse sandy, light colored clay, all more or less streaked 
with yellow and pink. The sand in places contains small peb¬ 
bles up to one-half inch in diameter. 

Layer No. 2 of this section is believed to correspond to layer No. 
3 in the section at Zenith—the red, ferruginous sand of probable 
Eocene age being the surface formation over the level stretch of 
country extending from Fort Valley to Zenith. Layer No. 1 of 
this section corresponds to layer No. 2 of the Zenith section. 

About 100 yards northeast of the cut just described, a cut, the 
top of which is at a slightly lower- level, reveals about 20 feet of 
light-colored Cretaceous sands and clays, the lower five feet of 
which has a laminated appearance. 

At two and one-half miles northeast of Fort Valley on the same 
railroad, a cut reveals the following: 

Section Central of Georgia Railway, two and one-lialf miles northeast 


of Fort Valley, Ga . 

Eocene ? Feet. 

3. Loose, gray, residual sand. 2 

2. Mottled, red, highly ferruginous, coarse sand, 

fragments of iron crusts in places along base . 5 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

1. Light gray, coarse, crossbedded, argillaceous sand 

and sandy clay. 18 

Section in cut six miles northeast of Fort Valley, Ga. 

Eocene ? Feet. 

2. Coarse, red, ferruginous sand, with a fairly per¬ 

sistent line of pebbles along the base. Frag¬ 
ments of fine, yellow sandstone with a maxi¬ 
mum length of 8 inches were observed at one 
place near the base. 8 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

1. Coarse, yellow and red, somewhat ferruginous 
sand, with thin lenses and layers of drab, sandy 
clay, and in places lines of small white clay 
balls. 8 

One-half mile northeast of the station at Byron a section is re¬ 
vealed in a cut, as described below: 






170 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section in cut one-half mile northeast of the station at Byron, Ga. 

„ 0 Feet. In. 

Eocene ? i 

6. Loose, gray, residual sand ...... . . • • • 

5 Weathered, yellow, ferruginous sand, with small, 
round, iron concretions. Grades down into next 

layer.. * 

4 Weathered, mottled yellow and red, massive, 

rather coarse, argillaceous, ferruginous sand . b 

3. Sharply defined layer of mottled drab and yellow- 

ish, finely arenaceous clay. ••••;* 1 

2. Pinkish tinted, massive, loose sand, fine at top, 
becoming coarser to very coarse at base. In 
lower 1 to 2 feet contains numerous, small, an¬ 
gular, quartz pebbles reaching one inch in diam¬ 
eter, and scattered, angular white clay masses 

reaching several inches in diameter. b 

(Unconformity, somewhat obscured in places by 
weathering.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

1. Coarse, white or light gray, crossbedded, arkosic 
sand, with subordinate white clay lenses ... 


One-half mile northeast of the preceding, a cut reveals six feet 
of weathered, mottled, red ferruginous sand, with pebbles and clay 
halls along the base, resting unconformably upon coarse, crossbedded 
sand. The former corresponds to layer No. 2 and the latter to 

layer No. 1 in the preceding section. > . 

The red ferruginous materials overlying the Cusseta sand at all 
the localities between Fort Valley and this point described on pre¬ 
ceding pages, are believed to he of Eocene age, as they are separated 
from the Cretaceous by an unconformity, the unconformable rela¬ 
tion of the two is not everywhere directly apparent, due to the 
weathering effects resulting from the close proximity of the contact 

to the surface. , . , 

One and one-half miles northeast of Byron a cut reveals materials 

as graphically represented below: 



Fig. 12.—Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, one and one-half 
miles northeast of Byron, Ga. 

Explanation of Figure. 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

2. Light gray, coarse, rather loose, crossbedded sand streaked 
with yellow, with subordinate clay lenses. 



















RIPLEY FORMATION 


171 


1. For the most part light to drab clay with subordinate sand 
layers and lenses, in part laminateu and in part massive. At 
one place, a in the section, there is about 6 feet of dark 
drab to chocolate carbonaceous clay filled with comminuted 
plant particles, which grades laterally into tne lighter clays. 

The lower part of the dark clay is laminated, with fine sand 
partings; the upper part is more massive and in this were 
found a few determinable plant remains. 

The plants from layer No. 2 were submitted to E. W. Berry, who- 
furnished the following list: (See also Bull. Torrey Botan. Club 
No. 37, 1910, p. 505.) 

Araucaria jeffreyi Berry 

Cunninghamites elegans (Corda) Endl. 

Dryopteris sp. nov. 


At mile-post 15 on the Central of Georgia Railway, two miles 
northeast of Byron, a cut reveals about 50 feet of Cusseta materials 
consisting of light gray, coarse to very coarse, arkosic, incoherent 
sand with subordinate lenses of light drab to white, massive clay 
reaching several feet in thickness. Veatch has described the clay 
lenses in these sands from the economic standpoint in his clay re¬ 
port, pp. 213-215. , 

A well owned by J. W. Epting, one and one-quarter miles south¬ 
west of Powersville, probably penetrates the strata of this formation. 
The log is given below. The owner is authority for the lithology. 


Log of well one and one-quarter miles southwest of Powersville , Ga . 

Eocene ? Feet. 

5 cj a y.about 0 to 30 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). 

4. “Chalky” (clayey) strata gradually becoming 

sandy, (some water).albout 30 to 60 

3 Clay.about 60 to 85 

2. Sandy “chalky” (clayey) strata, yellowish, about 85 to 108 

1. Coarse, white sand, water-bearing.108 to 110 

A well owned by H. C. Harris at Fort Valley, Ga., the log of 
which is given below, probably penetrates the entire thickness of this 
formation: 

Log of well at Fort Talley, Ga., furnished by the ownerf ^ 

8. Red clay. 20 

7. Sand. 

6. White clay. ° 

5. Yellow sand. 

4. White clay. ™ 

3. Quicksand with pebbles.• • • • 400 ... 

2 H'rd rock 4 .Thickness not given (?) 

1 . Quicksand .Thicknetes not given (?) 


Total 


1075 


^Quoted from Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 15, 1908, p. 120. 
















172 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

With the exception of the upper 20 feet, which is probably re¬ 
ferable to the Eocene, the beds penetrated in the Fort Valley well 
are all of Cretaceous age. Doubtless the Cusseta sand member of 
the Ripley formation, which immediately underlies the red 
Eocene stratum at the surface, was entirely penetrated, and the 
deeply buried, underlying Lower Cretaceous strata entered to a 
depth of several hundred feet. Indeed, it seems probable, if the 
depth reached was as great as given, that the bottom of the well was 
very near the crystalline basement rocks when the drilling was dis¬ 
continued. 

A well at Byron, described below, is believed to have passed 
through 15 or 20 feet of Eocene strata in its upper part, below 
which the beds penetrated probably all belong to the Cusseta sand 
member. 

Log 1 of well at Byron, Ga. 


Feet. 

Sand and “chalk” (kaolin). 0 250 

Quicksand and “chalk” (kaolin) in 3-foot layers, 

water bearing stratum, coarse sand. 250 310 


It is believed that the Cusseta sand belt extends eastward from 
Byron through the southern part of Bibb County into the extreme 
western part of Twiggs County, and somewhere to the west of Bul¬ 
lards passes under the overlying Eocene beds. Little detailed infor¬ 
mation is available in this region, however, and until such has been 
obtained the exact limits of the division with respect to the under¬ 
lying Lower Cretaceous beds and the overlying Upper Cretaceous 
(Providence sand) and overlapping Eocene beds, must remain in¬ 
definite. 

The log of one well near Walden, in southern Bibb County, which 
penetrates the Cusseta sand member, is given below: 

Log of well one and one-half miles west of Wolden, Ga., owned by 
W. G. Middlebrooks. The owner is authority for the lithology. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Cusseta sand member). Feet. 

3. Red clay .0 22 

2. White sand and kaolin, about .22 70 

1. Clay and sand, water-bearing. 70 82 


DETAILED SECTIONS (EXOGYRA COSTATA ZONE). 

Chattahoochee River (typical marine beds).—In bluffs just below 
the mouth of Cowikee Creek and in a bluff about 40 feet high on 
Cowikee Creek, a few hundred yards above its junction with the 


1 Geol. Surv. of Ga., Bull. No. 15, 1908, p. 122. 







RIPLEY FORMA TION 


173 


river, dark gray to almost black, compact, argillaceous, micaceous, 
marine sand is well exposed. A few scattered fossils were found 
here, comprising marine or brackish water shells’and plants asso¬ 
ciated in the same layers. The plant remains bear signs of con¬ 
siderable trituration. They were probably floated into the body of 
water where deposition was taking jflace, and becoming water-logged 
sank and mingled with the shells. 

The following are the invertebrates recognized from the locality 
just described: 

Cowikee Creek , Barbour County , Ala., near mouth. Collectors, 
T. W. Stanton and L. W. Stephenson. 


Locality Numbers. 



T. w. s. 

853 

L. w. S. 
6399 

Mollusca: 



Nucula sp. (small). 

X 

X 

Nucula sp. 


X 

Ostrea plumosa Morton. 


X 

Ostrea subspatulata Forbes? (young individual) . . 


X 

Cymella bella Conrad. 


X 

Liopistha sp. 


X 

Leptosolen sp. 

X 



The invertebrates at this locality are closely associated with poorly 
preserved leaf remains, of which the following were identified by 
E. W. Berry: 

I* 

Bauhinia sp. nov. Salix sp. 

Platanus sp. nov. Sapindus sp. 

Laurus sp. Fern, not determinable. 

Opposite the mouth of Burstahatchee Creek, right bank, about five 
and one-half miles above Eufaula, 15 or 20 feet of dark gray, com¬ 
pact, calcareous sand appears above water level. This horizon is 
well within the Exogyra costata zone. The following fossils were ob¬ 
tained here: 

Chattahoochee River, right bank, opposite mouth of Burstahatchee 
Creek, about five and one-half miles above Eufaula in Barbour 
County, Ala. T. W. Stanton and L. W. Stephenson, collectors. 














174 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 



Locality Numbers. 

• 

T. W. S. 
853 

L. W. S. 
6398 

Echinodermata: 



Hemiaster ungula (Morton) (Identified by W. B. 



Clark) . 

X 


? Coptostoma mortoni (de Leriol) (Identified by W. B. 



Clark. 

X 


Mollusca: 



inoceramus sp. 


X 

Ostrea plumosa Morton. 


X 

Ostrea larva Lamarck. 

X 


Ostrea subspatulata Forbes ? (young ind.). 

X 


Ostrea sp. 

X 


Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck. 


X 

Exogyra costata Say. 


X 

Pecten quinquescostatus (Sowerby). 

X 

X 

Anomia argentaria Morton.. 

X 

X 

Paranomia scabra (Morton). 

X 

X 

Veniella conradi (Morton). 


X 

Cardium sp. 


X 

Scala sillimani (Morton). 

X 


Turritella trilira Conrad. 


X 

Pyropsis sp. 


X 

Arthropoda: 



Crab remains. 

X 



Just below the mouth of Burstahatchee Creek on the Georgia side 
the river impinges against the base of a hill having a height above 
zero water level of 240 or 250 feet. Only about the upper 100 feet 
of the section is clearly exposed. The following is a description of 
the strata: 


Section at Stewarts Hill , Chattahoochee River, five and one-half miles 

above Eufaula, Ala. 


Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation (Layers 8 to 15 inclusive probably rep¬ 
resent the transition from the typical marine 
beds to the Providence sand member.) 

15. Coarse, red and yellow, argillaceous sand, well 

exposed only in lower 5 feet. 10 

14. Layer of ironstone averaging 2 inches. 0 

13. Laminated, fine, varicolored, argillaceous, micace¬ 
ous sand, becoming more argillaceous to a clay 

at base. 10 

12. Coarse, gray and reddish, argillaceous sand ... 5 

11. Laminated, varicolored, finely arenaceous, micace¬ 
ous clay with pockets and small lenses of coarse 

sand. 4 

10. Irregular layer of coarse ironstone. 0 

9. Coarse, rather loose, yellow, arkosic sand .... 9 


In. 


2 


1-5 

































RIPLEY FORMATION 


175 


8 . Irregular layer of ironstone, averaging. 0 

7. Fine, greenish gray, argillaceous, micaceous sand, 

finely mottled with yellow. 22 

6 . Finely laminated sand and clay with thin plates of 

ironstone . 3 

5. Fine, gray, micaceous sand, delicately mottled with 

purple, red and yellow. 20 

4. Coarse ironstone. 0 

3. Mottled, fine, gray, micaceous sand. 10 

2. Gray, micaceous, sand and dark, laminated, mica¬ 
ceous clay, poorly exposed.about 30 

1 . Concealed, except masses of dark gray marine 
sands and clays at base which are not in place 
but have slipped down from a higher level 
. about 125 


2 


6 


Between Stewarts Hill and Eufaula there are numerous bluffs 
where the river cuts against the edge of the lowest Pleistocene terrace, 
exposing at their base 30 or 40 feet of Bipley strata which are over- 
lain by 10 to 20 feet of Pleistocene terrace sand and clay. The Cre¬ 
taceous materials consist principally of gray, more or less calcareous 
and argillaceous, compact, marine sands, some layers of which are 
indurated, forming projecting ledges along the faces of the bluffs. 
In places the argillaceous content increases, forming dark, finely 
arenaceous clays. The materials are more or less fossiliferous, and 
although no collections are now available for study it is doubtless 
entirely feasible to make such collections. 

At St. Francis Bend, two and one-half miles above Eufaula, Ala., 
Capt. J. W. Singleton, Superintendent U. S. Engineers, of Columbus, 
Ga., collected a fragment of a dermal scute and the symphysical 
portion of the lower jaw of a Gavial. These were received by the Na¬ 
tional Museum through Prof. S. W. McCallie, State Geologist of 
Georgia. They were identified by C. W. Gilmore. 

At Eufaula there is an excellent exposure of the beds of this di¬ 
vision in the river bluff below the wagon bridge. (See plate XV, B.) 


Section at Eufaula , Alabama. 

Pleistocene (second terrace deposit above river level). Feet. 

2. Yellow and red, argillaceous, more or less pebbly 

sand. 20 


(Unconformity). 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. (Exogyra costata zone.) 

1. Dark gray to black, more or less calcareous, 
micaceous and glauconitic sand and clay, ex¬ 
tremely micaceous in some layers, with indu¬ 
rated nodular, calcareous layers, 5 to 10 feet 
apart. Contains fossils.. 80 

This is the type locality for a large number of fossils described by 
the early investigators of the Cretaceous deposits of this region. The 
following list has been prepared from the collections of different 
workers, made since the year 1890. 












176 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Eufaula, Ala. Collectors, W. P. Copeland , L. C. Johnson, T. W. 

Stanton, L. W. Stephenson. 


Locality Numbers 


L.C.J. 

W.P.C. 

T.W.S. 

L.W.S. 

L.W.S 

186 

389 

854 

5416 

6400 


Coelenterata: 






Undetermined coral. 



X 



Echinodermata: 

i 





Hemiaster lacunosus Slocum (Iden- 






tided by W. B. Clark) .... 



X 



Cassidulus micrococcus Gabb 






Ident. by W. B. Clark) . . . 






Vermes: 






Serpula barbata Morton. 





X 

Hamulus onyx Morton. 




X 


Mollusca: 






Nucula percrassa Conrad .... 



X 



Nucula distorta Gabb ?. 



X 



Nucula sp. 



X 



Leda pinnaforma Gabb. 



X 

X 

X 

Cucullaea vulgaris Morton (var.) 



X 



Breviarca cuneata (Gabb) .... 



X 



Nemodon eufaulensis Conrad . . 



X 

X 

X 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Orbig- 






ny) . 



X 

X 

X 

Gervilliopsis ensiformis Conrad . 



X 


X 

Inoc£ramus sp. 



X 

X 

X 

Pteria ?. 



X 

X 


Ostrea larva Lamarck. 

X 


X 


X 

Ostrea tecticosta Gabb. 

X 


X 

X 

X 

Ostrea subspatulata Forbes . . . 

X 


X 



Ostrea plumosa Morton. 



X 



Ostrea peculiaris conrad. 



X 



Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck . . 

X 


X 


X 

Exogyra costata Say. 

X 

X 

X 


X 

Trigonia eufalensis Gabb .... 


X 

X 

X 

X 

Trigonia sp. 



X 



Pecten simplicius Conrad .... 



X 

X 

X 

Pecten argillensis Conrad .... 



X 



Pecten tenuitestus Gabb. 



X 



Pecten sp. 



X 



Lima reticulata Forbes. 



X 


X 

Anomia argentaria Morton . . . 

X 


X 


X 

Anomia sp. 



X 



Paranomia scabra (Morton) . . . 

X 


X 


X 

Grenella serica Conrad. 



X 

X 

X 

Dreissensia tippana Conrad . . . 



X 



Pholadomya occidentalis Morton . 

X 


X 

X 


Anatimya anteradiata (Conrad) . 



X 



Veniella conradi (Morton) . . . 



X 

X 

X 

Vetericardia crenalirata (Conrad) . 



X 

X 

X 

Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb . . 



X 

X 


Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad . . 



X 



Tenea pinguis Conrad ?. 



X 



Spbaerella concentrica Conrad . . 



X 


x 

Cardium eufaulense Conrad . . . 



X 

































































GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XV. 



A. EXPOSURE ON MERCERS MILL CREEK, NEAR GEORGETOWN IN QUITMAN 
COUNTY, GA., SHOWING FOSSILIFEROUS. MARINE SANDS OF THE 

RIPLEY FORMATION. 



B. BLUFF ON CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER. AT EUFAULA, ALA., SHOWING 80 FEET 
OF GRAY, CALCAREOUS, MARINE SANDS AND CLAYS OF 
THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 




























































































■ 







































RIPLEY FORMATION 


177 



Locality Numbers 



L.C.J. 

w.p.c. 

T.W.S. 

L.w.s. 

L.W.S. 



186 

389 

854 

5416 

6400 


Cardium spillmani Conrad . 



« 

X 




.Cyprimeria depressa Conrad . 



x 




Cyprimeria alta Conrad . . . 



X 




Aphrodina tippana (Conrad) . 



X 

X 



Legumen planulatum (Conrad) 



X 


X 


Aenona eufalensis Conrad . 



X 




Linearia sp. (cf. L. carolinensis Con. 



X 




Linearia sp. 




x 



Leptosolen biplicata Conrad . . . 



X 

X 

X 


Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) . . . 



X 




Corbula crassiplica Gabb .... 



X 

* 



Corbula (other speecies) .... 



X 




Teredo sp. 

X 




X 


Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb . . . 





X 


Lunatia obliquata M. & H. ... 



X 




Turritella vertebroides Morton . . 




X 



Turritella trilira Conrad. 




X 

X 


Pterocerella sp. 


X 





Anchura sp. 



X 




Pugnellus densatus Conrad .... 



X 




Ringicula pulchella Shumard . . . 




X 



Nautilus dekayi Morton. 



X 




Baculites sp. 



X 




Turrilites ?. 




X 



Arthropoda: 







Bairdro sp. (Ostracoda indentified 







by R. S. Bassler) . 




X 



Crab remains. 

X 

X 






Prof. Eugene A. Smith 1 has published the log of a well located at 
Eufaula which throws light on the character of the materials beneath 
water level at this place. It is quoted as follows: 


Record of Eufaula Oil and Gin Company's well, Eufaula. 


' Feet. 

Top soil and sand. 0 to 30 

Marl . 30 “ 380 

Soft sandstone 380 “ 381 

Cavity with a little water.‘ . 381 “ 389 

Marl, water below in very fine sand. 389 “ 950 


More than half the thickness of strata described in this log doubt¬ 
less belongs to the Kipley formation, hut it is probable that several 
hundred feet of the underlying Eutaw strata were penetrated. 

Below Eufaula, typical beds of the formation are exposed in nu¬ 
merous bluffs. The fossils listed below were collected by Dr. T. W. 
Stanton at a point two miles below the landing at Eufaula. 

iGeol. Surv. of Alabama. The Underground Water Resources of Alabama, Mont¬ 
gomery, 1907, p. 240-241. 









































178 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Locality No. 857. Chattahoochee River, between Eufaula and Bar- 
hour Creek. T. W. Stanton, collector. 


Mollusca: 

Nucula eufalensis Gabb 
Nucula percrassa Conrad 
Nucula cuneifrons Conrad 
Leda pinnaforma Gabb 
Ledo longifrons Conrad 
Cucullaea sp. 

Breviarca cuueata (Gabb) 
Nemodon eufalensis Conrad 
Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- 
bigny) 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- 
bigny) (var. ?) 

Glycymeris sp. ? 

GerviPliopsis ensiformis (Con¬ 
rad) 

Perna sp. 

Exogyra costata Say 
Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck 
(small) 

Trigonia eufalensis Gabo 
Pecten argillensis Conrad 
Pecten simplicius Conrad 
Pecten quinquenarius Conrad 
Lima acutilineata (Conrad) 
Lima reticulata Forbes 
Lima pelagica (Morton) 

Anemia argentaria Morton 
Anomia sp. 

Pulvinites argentea Conrad 
Crenella serica Conrad 
Arthropoda: 

Crab remains 


Dreissensia tippana Conrad 
Cuspidaria ventricosa Meek & Hay¬ 
den 

Liopistha protexta Conrad 
Veniella conradi (Morton) 

Vetericardia crenalirata Conrad 
Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb 
Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Crassatellites sp. 

Cardium kummeli Weller 
Cardium eufaulense Conrad 
Cyprimeria alta Conrad (var. ?) 
Linearia metastriata Conrad 
Linearia (other species) 

Corbula crassiplica Gabb 
Corbula (several other species) 
Undetermined pelecypods 
Gastrochaena americana Gabb x 

Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb 
Dentalium sp. 

Cadulus obnutus (Conrad ) 

Lunatia obliquata M. & H. 

Turritella trilira Conrad 
Turritella vertebroides Morton 
Turritella (other species) 

Fusus sp. 

Volutomorpha dumanensis Dali 
Morea cancellaria Conrad 
Undetermined gastropods 
Turrilites alternatus Tuomey 


One mile below the mouth of Barbour Creek on the Georgia side 
of the river, eight or ten feet of gray, marine sand with indurated 
ledges is exposed. The materials above one of these ledges, six or 
seven feet above low water, have been washed away over a considerable 
area by the high waters, forming a shelf. Large numbers of speci¬ 
mens of Exogyra costata Say and Gryphcea Lamarck, washed from 
the Cretaceous materials, have accumulated in the shallow basins on 
this shelf. 

Eight miles below Eufaula, near Alexanders Landing, on the 
Alabama side, materials outcrop as described in the following section: 


Section, Chattahoochee River, Alexanders Landing, eight miles below 

Eufaida, Ala., right bank. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) Feet. 

3. Slope covered with vegetation except a gravel 

band along base. 20 or 30 

(Unconformity.) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. (Exogyra costata zone). 



RIPLEY FORMATION 


179 


2. Coarsely arenaceous limestone with numerous 
specimens of Echinodermata. One specimen of 
Ostrea subspatulata Forbes (variety) also ob¬ 
tained .. 15 

1. Dark gray, more or less argillaceous, very micace¬ 
ous marine sand. 15 


Prof. A\ m. B. Clark, to whom the specimens were submitted, iden¬ 
tified the following species of Echinodermata from layer Xo. 2 of 
the preceding section: 

Cassidulus porrectus Clark 
Cassidulus subconicus Clark 
Cassidulus subquadratus Conrad 

W lien this locality was visited by JJr. Stanton there was ex¬ 
posed, somewhere near Alexander’s Landing, above layer Xo. 2 of 
the preceding section, a bed, consisting of unconsolidated marine 
material from which Dr. Stanton collected the following species: 

Locality No. 856.—Chattahoochee River, Alexanders Landing, eight 
miles below Eufaula, Ala. Collector, T. W. Stanton. 


Mollusca: PI 

Nucula percrassa Conrad Pt 

Nucula distorta Gabb ? 

Nucula sp. Li 

Leda pinnaforma Gab Cr 

Leda sp. cf. L. marlboroensis Cy 
Weller Li 

Cucullaea antrosa Morton Ae 

Breviarca cuneata (Gabb) Cy 

Nemodon eufalensis Conrad Co 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- Li 

bigny) Gj 

Pecten argillensis Conrad Ui 

Pecten Simplicius Conrad 
Anomia linifera Conrad H; 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as “Nar¬ 
rows” of Pataula Creek) 
Dreissensia tippana Conrad 

Arthropoda: 

Crab claw 

Vertebrata: 

Undetermined tooth of fish. 


Pholadomya occidentalis Morton 
Pholadompa sp. nov. (same as at 
“Narrows” of Pataula Creek) 
Liouistha protexta Conrad 
Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Linearia ? 

Aenona eufalensis Conrad 
Cymbophora lintea Conrad ? 

Corbula (several species) 

Lunatia obliquata Meek & Heyden 
Gyrodes sp. 

Undetermined pelecypods and gastro¬ 
pods 

Hamites sp. nov. (same as at Prairie 
Bluff, Ark., etc.) 


Two miles below the preceding, about 10 miles below Eufaula, 25 
or 30 feet of similar echinoid bearing rock with interbedded soft 
sand pockets and layers, appears in a bluff on the Georgia side of 
the river. The same species of Echinodermata were obtained here, 
also Ostrea subspatulata Eorbes (variety) and Cardium Tcummeli 
Weller. 

At the mouth of Pataula Creek, 12% miles below Eufaula, Doctor 
Stanton collected the following fossils from typical marine materials: 




180 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Locality No. 855. —Chattahoochee River at mouth of Pataula Creek, 

Ga. T. W. Stanton, collector. 


Mollusca: 

Nucula percrassa Conrad 
Nucula distorta Gabb ? 

Nucula eufalensis Gabb 
Leda pinnaforma Gabb 
Leda longifrons Conrad 
Leda sp. (cf. L. marlboroensis 
Weller) 

Perrisonota protexta Conrad 
Cucullaea littlei (Gabb) 
Breviarca cuneata (Gabb) 
Nemodon eufalensis Conrad 
Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- 
bigny) 

Glycymeris ? 

Gervilliopsis ensiiformis (Con¬ 
rad) 

Gervilliopsis sp. 

Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck 
Trigonia eufalensis Gabb 
Pecten argillensis Conrad 
Pecten argillensis Conrad 
Pecten Simplicius Conrad 
Pecten tenuitestus Gabb 
Lima acutilineata (Conrad) 
Lima reticulata Forbes 
Anomia argentaria Morton 
Anomia sp. nov. (same as at 
“Narrows” of Pataula Creek) 
Pulvinites argentea Conrad 
Crenella serica Conrad 
Dreissensia tippana Conrad 
Pholadomya sp. nov. (same as 


at “Narrows” of Pataula 
Creek) 

Liopistha protexta Conrad 
Veniella conradi (Morton) 

Etea carolinensis Conrad 
Vetericardia crenalirata (Conrad) 
Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb 
Crassatellites sp. 

Tenea pinguis (Conrad) ? 

Spbaerella concentrica Conraa 
Cardium eufaulense Conrad 
Cardium' spillmani Conrad 
Cyprimeria alta Conrad (var. ?) 
Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Legumen planutatum (Conrad) 
Apbrodina tippana Conrad 
Aenona eufalensis Conrad 
Linearia metastriata Conrad 
Linearia sp. 

Leptosolen biplicata Conrad 
Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) 

Corbula crassiplica Gabb 
Corbula (several other species) 
Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb 
Pleurotomaria ? 

Lunatia obliquata Meek & Hayden 
Turritella sp. nov. (with two spiral 
ribs) 

Turritella sp. 

Sphenodiscus pleuriseptus (Conrad) 
Undetermined pelecypods and gas¬ 
tropods 


Vertebrata: 

Dermal scute of gavial-like croco- (Identified by C. W. Gilmore.) 
dile 

One mile below the month of Pataula Creek Dr. Stanton collected 
the following fossils: 

Locality No. 859.—Chattahoochee River, one mile below the mouth 
of Pataula Creek. T. W. Stanton, collector. 

Mollusca: “Narrows” of Pataula Creek.) 

Cucullaea littlei (Gabb) Crassatellites sp. _ 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- Cardium spillmani Conrad 

bigny) Cardium eufalensis Conrad 

Exogyra costata Say Cardium tippanum Conrad 

Trigonia angulicostata Gabb Aphrodina tippana Conrad ? 

Pholadomya sp. nov. (same as at 

Thirteen and one-half miles below Eufaula, and one and one-half 
miles above Othos Landing, on the Alabama side, the following 
section occurs: 


RIPLEY FORMATION 


181 


Section IS 1/2 miles below Eufaula, and one and one-half miles above 
Othos Landing, right bank. 

Feet. 

Tree-covered slope probably in part Eocene .. 50 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. ( Exogyra costata zone) 

2. Gray, coarsely arenaceous clay, with poor fossils, 

Anomia argentaria Morton recognized.. Brown¬ 
ish band a few inches thick along base .... 3 

1. Gray marine sand alternating with numerous 
ledges of coarsely arenaceous limestone. Con¬ 
tains Cassidulus subquadratus Conrad, Exogyra 
costata Say, Gardium kiimmeli Weller, and un¬ 
determined gastropods, about. 25 

Between the preceding locality and Morris Landing, 15 miles 
below Eufaula, indurated ledges were seen at intervals projecting 
from bluffs partially overgrown with vegetation, but no detailed ob¬ 
servations were made until Morris Landing was reached. Some¬ 
where in this distance the Cretaceous beds have passed finally be¬ 
neath water level, for at Morris Landing only Eocene rock is exposed. 
The basal three feet here consists of partially indurated, calcareous, 
argillaceous sandstone containing numerous casts of Turritella 
mortoni Conrad and some other Eocene fossils. This is overlain by 
coarse, sandy limestone, which grades upward into white limestone, 
containing but little sand, the whole thickness amounting to about 
20 feet. 

Region between Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers (typical ma¬ 
rine beds).—Typical marine beds of the Ripley formation, referable 
to the zone of Exogyra costata, appear at the surface in a belt which 
extends from Chattahoochee River to the northeastward, including 
parts of Clay, Quitman, Stewart, Chattahoochee, Marion, Schley, 
and Macon counties. From Quitman County, southeast of George¬ 
town, to the northeastern extremity of their occurrence in Macon 
County, the beds are overlain by the Providence sand member of 
the formation. 

Fossiliferous exposures have been studied at several localities in 
Quitman County. At the bridge of the Central of Georgia. Rail¬ 
way over Mercers Mill Creek, one-half mile south of the station at 
Georgetown, there is exposed eight or ten feet of dark gray to black, 
finely arenaceous, micaceous sand containing bits of lignite and many 
fossils. (See plate XV, A, opposite p. 176.) Many of the species oc¬ 
curring here are small forms. They are for the most part pelecypods 
and gastropods. The following forms have been identified. 




182 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Locality No. 51+17.—Mercers Mill CreekCentral of Georgia Railway 
bridge, near Georgetown, Ga. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


Protozoa: 


Nodosaria sp. 


Coelenterata: 

Stephanophyllia (near bowerbankii M. E. & H.) 

(Identified by T. W. Vaughan) 


Vermes: 


Serpula sp. (long, nearly straight tube) 
Hamulus onyx Morton 
Hamulus squamosus Gabb 


Mollusca: 

Nucula distorta Gabb ? 

Nucula sp. 

Breviarca cuneata (Gabb) ? 
(young) 

Leda pinnaforma Gabb 
Nemodon eufalens'.s Conrad 
Glycymeris subaustralis (d'Or- 
bigny) 

Gervilliopsis ensiformis (Con¬ 
rad) 

Inoceramus sp. 

Ostrea sp. 

Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck? 
(young) 

Exogyra costata Say 
Trigonia eufalensis Gaob 
Pecten Simplicius Conrad 
Lima acutilineata (Conrad) 
Lima reticulata Forbes 
Anomia argentaria Morton 
Anomia linifera Conrad 
Crenella serica Conrad 
Dreissensia tippana Conrad 
Veniella conradi (Morton) 
Vetericardia crenalirata (Con¬ 
rad) 

Arthropoda: 

Bairdro sp. (ostracod identified 


Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb 
Scambula perlana Conrad 
Lucina sp. 

Tenea pinguis Conrad 
Cardium kiimmeli Weller 
Cardium eufaulense Conrad 
Aphrodina tippana Conrad 
Aenoma eufalensis Conrad 
Linearia metastriata Conrad 
Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) 

Corbula crassiplica Gabb 
Corbula (several other species) 
Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb 
Dentalium sp. 

Cadulus obnutus (Conrad) 

Scala sillimani (Morton) 

Rapana stantoni Weller 
Eulima sp. 

Pleurotoma ? melanopsis (Conrad) 
Pleurotoma ? laqueata (Conrad) 
Lunatia obliquata Meek and Hayden 
Turritella trilira Conrad 
Strepsidura interrupta Conrad 
Morea cancellaria, Conrad 
Volutoderma sp. 

Cyclichna ? 

Undetermined gastropods 
V R. n S. Bassler) 


The horizon exposed at Mercers Mill corresponds in vertical posi¬ 
tion to the upper part of the Cretaceous portion of the section in the 
bluff at Eufaula. The Cretaceous beds at this mill are overlain by 
Pleistocene terrace gravels as shown by exposures just to the east of 
the Central of Georgia Railway bridge. 

On the Georgetown-Coffinton road, about six miles south of Cof- 
finton, just south of a bridge over a small creek, materials are ex¬ 
posed as described in the following section: 

Section in Georgetown-Coffinton road, six miles south of C offinton. 


Quitman, County. 

Pleistocene ? Feet. 

2. Yellow sand and loam with small fragments of 

limestone along base. 15 

(Unconformity) 



RIPLEY FORMATION 


183 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra costata zone) 

1. Dark gray, marine clay. 5 

Fossils were obtained in the marine clay in the preceding section 

as follows: 

Locality No. 5383. — Georgetown-Coffinton roadsix miles south 
of Coffinton, Ga., and just south of bridge over small creek. L. W. 
Stephenson, collector. 

Vermes: 

Hamulus onyx Morton 
Mollusca: 

Ostrea larva Lamarck 
Exogyra costata Say 


Anomia argentaria Morton 
Paranomia scabra (Morton) 


The horizon at the preceding locality probably corresponds approx¬ 
imately to that at Mercers Mill described above. 

In a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway five miles southeast 
of Eufanla, Ala., in Quitman County, Ga., the following section is 
exposed: 


Section in cut of Central of Georiga Bailway, five miles southeast of 
Eufaula, Ala., in Quitman County, Ga., near the 130tli milepost. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. In. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra costata zone). 

6. Weathered, rather fine, harsh, micaceous, slightly 
argillaceous sand faintly tinted with red and 
pink, with iron crusts locally distributed and 

with a thin iron crust along base. 10 

5. Fine, micaceous sand, similar to preceding, but 

looser in texture. 2 6 

4. Laminated, drab, finely arenaceous and micaceous 
clay with fine, micaceous sand partings, iron 

crusts along base. 5 G 

3. Yellow, loose, medium to fine, micaceous sand . . 5 

2. Gray, micaceous, argillaceous sand, with some 

clay films and occasional thin iron crusts . . 4 

1 Light gray, yellowish, coarse, somewhat micaceous 
sand, with irregularly developed ferruginous 
masses containing prints of fossils . Exposed 5 to 10 feet. 


From layer Fo. 1 in the above section the forms listed below have 
been identified: 


Locality No. 6933.—One hundred and thirty-ninth milepost, Cen¬ 
tral of Georgia Railway, Quitman County, Ga. [about five miles 
southeast of Eufaula, Ala., L. IV S.}. Collector, Otto Veatch. 


Mollusca: 

Pecten sp. 

Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Cardium kiimmeli Weller 


Cardium. eufaulense Conrad ? 
Cardium tippanum Conrad ? 
Pugnellus sp. 

Anchura sp. 






184 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The horizon from which the above listed forms was obtained is 
probably higher stratigraphically than the Mercers Mill exposure, 
and not so high as the Pataula Creek exposure described below. 

An interesting section is exposed in Clay County at the “Narrows” 
of Pataula Creek, nine miles north of Fort Gaines, and two miles 
above the mouth of the creek. The so-called “Narrows” is a gorge 
about one-eighth mile long, cut in the Pipley formation, the gorge 
proper being some eight or ten feet deep and terminating up stream 
in a picturesque waterfall. The section given below was taken near 
the head of the gorge and shows the character of the materials in the 
gorge proper and in the slope above the level of the brink of the falls. 
(See Plate XVI, A ,and B.) 

Section near head of gorge at the “Narrows” of Pataula Creek, nine 
miles north of Fort Gaines, Clay County, Ga. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation (Exogyra costata zone). 

2. Brownish, weathered, argillaceous, marine sand . 12 

1. Dark greenish gray, massive, micaceous, argilla¬ 
ceous, marine sand with indurated ledges 1 to 6 
ft. apart. A few specimens of Exogyra cos¬ 
tata Say observed, and near the base an abun¬ 
dance of decayed shells. 23 

Just below the mouth of the gorge, in a horizon slightly lower than 
the base of the preceding section, a large collection of well preserved 
fossils was obtained from a coarse sandy, shell marl. In the list of 
fossils given below those collected by the writer were from the marl 
just described, and those collected by Yeatch were from parts of the 
section not designated. The beds exposed at the “Narrows” corres¬ 
pond to the exposure at and near the mouth of Pataula Creek on 
Chattahoochee Biver from which Dr. Stanton made exhaustive 
■collections. (See pp. 179-180 of this report.) 

Pataula Creek, Clay County, Ga., the “Narrows,” two miles above 
junction with Chattahoochee River and nine miles north of Fort 
Gaines. Collectors, Otto Yeatch and L. W. Stephenson. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XVI. 



A. TIIE “NARROWS” OF PATAULA CREEK, NINE MILES NORTH OF FORT 
GAINES. SHOWING TEN FEET OF CALCAREOUS MARINE SAND WITH 
INDURATED LAYERS OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 



B. 


VATERFALL AT UPPER END OF THE “NARROWS 
PRODUCED BY INDURATED CALCAREOUS 


” OF PATAULA CREEK. 
LAYER AT TOP 








































■ 










« 

















. 





















RIPLEY FORMATION 


185 



Locality Number. 


O. V. 
5376b 

L. W. S. 
6412 

Echinodermata: 



Cassidulus porrectus Clark (identified by W. B. Clark) 

X 


Vermes: 



Serpula sp. cf. (s. cretacea (Conrad). 


X 

Mollusca: 



Nucula percrassa Conrad. 


X 

Nucula sp. a (cf. N. slackiana Gabb). 


X 

Nucula sp. &. 


X 

Perrisonota protexta Conrad. 


X 

Leda pinnaforma Gabb (var. ?).'. 


X 

Cucullaea sp. 


X 

Breviarca cuneata Gabb. 


X 

Nemodon eufalensis Conrad (var. ?). 


X 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Orbignvj. 


X 

Exogyra costata Say. 

X 

X 

Ostrea sp. 


X 

Trigonia angulicostata Gabb. 


X 

Anomia argentaria Morton. 


X 

Anomia sp. nov.; . 


X 

Pholadomya sp. nov. 

X 

X 

Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad. 


X 

Crassatellites sp. 


X 

Lucina swedesboroensis Weller ?. 


X 

Lucina sp. nov. 


X 

Tenea pinguis Conrad . 


X 

Cardium eufaulense Conrad. 

X 

X 

Cardium eufaulense Conrad (var. ? ). 


X 

Cardium spillmani Conrad. 

X 


Cvprimeria depressa Conrad. 


X 

Legumen planulatum (Conrad). 


X 

Aenona eufalensis Conrad. 


X 

Linearia carolinensis Conrad ?. 


X 

Linearia sp. nov. 


X 

Leptosolen biplicata Conrad. • . 


X 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) ? . 


X 

Corbula sp. 


X 

Undetermined pelecypods. 


X 

Dentalium sp. 


X 

Eulima sp . 


X 

Solarium ?. 


X 

Lunatia obliquata Meek & Hayden. 


X 

Lunatia sp.. . 

X 


Turritella trilira Conrad. 

X 


Turritella. sp. nov. (two spiral ridges). 


X 

Pterocerella tippana Conrad . 


X 

Anchura sp . 


X 

Ancilla sp . 


X 

Actaeonina sp . 


X 

Cylichna recta Gabb . 


X 

Undetermined gastropods. 


X 

Vertebrata: 



Corax falcatus Agassiz . 

Undetermined shark’s tooth. 


X 


X 

Monotygma sp. . . . . 


X 






























































186 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


At Credilles Mill, Pataula Creek, about one mile above the “Ear- 
rows,” Veatch collected the following fossils from a horizon probably 
slightly higher than the marl bed described in the preceding section: 

Locality No. 6876a.—Credilles Mill, Pataula Creek, about one 
mile above the “Narrows,” Clay County, Ga. Otto Veatch, col- 
lector. ^ 

Echinodermata: 

Cassidulus conoideus Clark (Identified by W. B. Clark) 

Vermes: 

Serpula cretacea (Conrad 

Mollusca: _ , 

Cucullaea littlei (Gabb) Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 

Breviarca cuneata (Gabb) Volutomorpha sp. 

Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Or- Undetermined gastropod 

bigny) 

The beds exposed on Pataula Creek and on the river near the 
mouth of the creek are in stratigraphic position near the extreme 
uppermost part of the Ripley formation. 

Typical marine beds of the formation are exposed at numerous 
localities in Stewart County. -• ; 

About one and one-half miles east of Coffinton, in^a deep gully 
just north of the road leading east to the Eufaula-Lumpkin road, 
the following fossils w r ere collected from dark gray marine sands, 
with indurated layers, about 100 feet below the level of the road: 

Locality No. 5882.—One and one-half miles east of Coffinton, Ga. 

Mollusca: 

Collector, L. W. Stephenson. 

Ostrea subspatulata Forbes Anomia argentaria Morton 

Exogyra costata Say Baculites sp. 

Above the fossil layer at the preceding locality the marine ma¬ 
terials appear to grade up into fine, unconsolidated sand, which may 
represent the basal part of the overlying Providence sand member. 
The fossil horizon probably corresponds approximately to the horizon 
exposed at Mercers Mill in Quitman County, Ga. (see p. 182 of this 
report), anl at Eufaula, Ala. (see p. 175 of this report.) 

The basal 40 feet of the section exposed in the deep gully near 
Providence postoffice (now abandoned), described on page 194 of this 
report, is 'made up of typical marine beds of the Ripley formation. 
Among the casts observed near the top of layer i7o. 1 in that section 
the following forms were recognized: Serpula sp ., Leda sp ., Cucul- 
Icea sp. (large), Cardium sp. (with spines), Cardium eufaulense 
Conrad -(?), Cyprimeria depressa Conrad, Leptosolen hiplicata Con¬ 
rad, and Turritella trilira Conrad. In the shell layer at the base 
Exogyra costata Say and Cyprimeria depressa Conrad, were recog¬ 
nized. 


RIPLEY FORMATION 


187 


Four miles north of Lumpkin the following interesting section is 
exposed where the road passes down a steep northward-facing slope 
known as Johnsons Hill. 


Section, Johnsons THU, Lumpkin-Louvale road, four miles north of 

Lumpkin. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 


Ripley formation (Exogyra costata zone). 

(Providence sand member). 

5. Reddish brown, rather fine, ferruginous, somewhat 
argillaceous, weathered sand. Grades down- 

* ward into next layer. 15 

4. Weathered, pinkish, somewhat argillaceous, ferru¬ 
ginous sand. 8 

(Typical marine beds) 

3. Fine, greenish, micaceous sand, weathered in the 

upper part to pinkish and yellowish tints ... 20 

2. Fine, greenish gray, calcareous, more or less ar¬ 
gillaceous, marine sand with indurated ledges 
about 6 inches thick, 2 to 5 feet apart. Fossili- 
ferous. One specimen of Pholaclomya sp. nov. 

12 ft. below top. 40 

1. Dark gray, massive, argillaceous, calcareous sand, 
with indurated ledges similar to those in layer 
No. 2. Fossiliferous. 22 


The fossils listed below were obtained in layers FTos. 1 and 2 of 
the preceding section. The fossiliferons part of this section is prob¬ 
ably approximately at the same stratigraphic level as the Cretaceous 
section of Eufaula, Ala., although the presence of the large Phola- 
domya may indicate a slightly higher horizon. 

Johnsons TIill, Stewart County, Ga., four miles north of Lumpkin 
on Lumpkin-Louvale road. Collectors, Otto Veatch and L. W. 
Stephenson. 

Locality Number 


O. V. L. W. S. 
5375 6418-a-j 


Mollusca: 

Ostrea tecticosta Gabb. 

Ostrea plumosa Morton . 

Ostrea larva Lamarck var. falcata Morton. 

Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck (varieties) . 

Exogyra costata Say. 

Exogyra costata var. cancellata Stephenson. 

Trigonia thoracica Morton ?. 

Pecten quinquecostatus (Sowerby). 

Lima reticulata Forbes . 

Anomia argentaria Morton . 

Anomia sp. 

Paranomia scabra (Morton) . 

Pholadomya sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Pataula 

Creek) . 

Turritella trilira Conrad .. 


x 

x 

x 


x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

X 

X 


X 

X 

X 
































188 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


In the extreme northeastern corner of Stewart County the typical 
marine beds are well exhibited in a series of cuts of the Seaboard 
Air Line Railway from Renfroes Station northward for a distance 
of one and one-quarter miles. 

At the north end of the first cut near the water tank the the fol¬ 
lowing section was made: 

Section in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway , one-quarter mile north 
of Renfroes Station. 


Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation ( Exogyra costata zone). 

(Providence sand member). 

5. Gray residual sand. 

4. Red, ferruginous, slightly indurated, rather coarse 

sand.. 

3. Light gray, coarse, massive sand, partially mottled 

with yellow. 

2. Gray, pebbly, argillaceous sand with numerous 
small angular quartz pebbles up to one inch in 

diameter, poorly exposed. 

(Typical marine beds) 

1. Dark greenish gray, compact, massive, calcareous 
clay, resembling an impure phase of the Selma 
chalk of Alabama. 


Feet. 

3 

4 to 7 
5 


4 


From the cut just described northward for one mile there are a 
number of cuts exhibiting marine sands and clays. The track passes 
down a steep grade to the north. The thickness of strata exposed 
could not be determined with exactness, but the beds are nearly 
horizontal, and it is probable that the amount does not exceed 60 or 
70 feet. These are the type occurrences of the “Renfroes marl” of 
Veatch. The best section is furnished by the cut. farthest north. 


Section in cut of Seaboard Air Line Railway, one-quarter mile north 
of Renfroes Station. 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation ( Exogyra costata zone). 

3. Weathered, yellow, fine, calcareous, sand with an 
indurated, calcareous, nodular layer 5 feet 
above base. Fossiliferous. One specimen of 
Pholadomya sp. nov. 10 feet above base .... 

2. Gray, massive, calcareous, sandy clay, with an in¬ 
durated, nodular, calcareous layer 3 feet above 
base. Resembles certain impure phases of the 
Selma chalk in Alabama. Fossiliferous .... 

1. Massive, argillaceous, micaceous sand, apparently 
non-fossiliferous. 

The following list is compiled from collections obtained from the 
exposures in the several cuts from one-quarter to one and one-quarter 
miles north of Renfroes station. Most of the specimens were found 


Feet. 

20 

25 

7 








RIPLEY FORMATION 


189 


loose on the talus slopes, having weathered from the beds. On ac¬ 
count of the mixing of the specimens on the talus slopes, and because 
all the species identified (with the exception of the new species of 
Pholadomya whose position in the section is indicated) are wide- 
ranging within the zone of Exogyra costata , no attempt is made to 
designate in which of the above described layers they were originally 
in place. The stratigraphic position of the beds exposed in these 
cuts probably corresponds approximately to the Cretaceous portion 
of the section at Eufaula, although the presence of Pholadomya 
sp. nov. may indicate a slightly higher position in the section for 
layer No. 3. 


Cuts of Seaboard Air Line Railway, one-quarter to one and one- 
quarter miles north of Renfroes Station , Stewart County, Ga. 
L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


Loc. Nos. 6413-6417. 

Mollusca: 

Cucullaea sp. 

Ostrea tecticosta Gabb 
Ostrea larva Lamarck 
Ostrea plumosa Morton 
Grympbaea vesicularis Lamarck 
(varieties) 

Gryphaea sp. (small) 

Exogyra costata Say 
Exogyra costata var. cancellata 
Stephenson 
Vertebrata: 

Ischyrhiza mira Leidy (Iden. by J. W. Gidley) 

The typical marine beds of the formation have been penetrated in 
two wells in Stewart County. Information concerning the strata 
penetrated in these wells has been obtained from the owners', as fol¬ 
lows: 

G. L. Walton, of Charles, Ga., owns two wells; one, 65 feet deep, 
located near the station at the level of the track (Seaboard Air Line 
Railway), and another 85 feet deep, seven-eighths of a mile east of 
the station, 80 feet above the level of the track. Mr. Walton states 
that “the land is underlaid with hard marl and no one in the neigh¬ 
borhood has ever been able to carry a well through it.” 


Pecten quinquecostatus (Sowerby) 
Pecten sp. nov. ? 

Dianchora sp. 

Lima reticulata Forbes 
Anomia argentaria Morton 
Paranomia scabra (Morton) 
Paranomia sp. nov. 

Pholadomya sp. nov (same as sp. 
nov. from Pataula Creekj 


Log of well owned by E. H. Acker, two miles southwest of Charles , 

Georgia. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation. (Exogyra costata zone). 

3 Sand. 0 to 10 

2 Hard, dark brown, and gray, streaked clay, with 

one small layer of sand, water-bearing. 10 to 26 

1. Black marl at bottom of well. ? 


Total 


26 






190 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Mr. Acker states that the black marl has been encountered in other 
wells in this neighborhood. 

Mr. C. V. Stephens, of Eenfroes, states that blue marl is encoun¬ 
tered 10 to 15 feet below the surface in wells one and one-half miles 
west of Eenfroes, and that wells 90 feet deep have failed to penetrate 
through this kind of material. 

In Marion County weathered phases of the typical marine beds of 
the formation appear at intervals in the Buena Vista-Tazewell road, 
from two to four miles northeast of Buena Vista. 

Prof. S. W. McCallie 1 has published the log of a deep well drilled 
at Buena Vista, which throws light on the character of the strata 
underlying the central part of the county. It is as follows: 

Log of well at Beuna Vista , Ga. 


Feet. 

Blue clays . . .. 0-35 

Sand and clays.• •.• •.35-105 

Sort limestone .105-155 

Marl .••.155-158 

Rock .158-159 

Marl . 159-252 

Flint .• •. •*.... 252-254 

Indurated marl . 254-263 

Hard rock . 263-270 

Marl .270-297 

Limestone (water-bearing). 297-331 

Coarse gray sand . 331-343 

Marl (water-bearing) .343-364 

Marl. 364-551 

Hard, compact rock.• •.551-583 


The upper 105 feet of strata described in the above log is referable 
to the Providence sand member of the Eipley formation, and the re¬ 
mainder of the section are typical marine beds of the same forma¬ 
tion. 

Professor McCallie has collected fossils in Marion County from 
marine materials in the Exogyra costata zone, as enumerated in the 
following lists: 

Locality No. 3052.—Bivens Plantation on Dry Creek, three miles 
west of Pineville, Marion County, Ga. S. W. McCallie, collector. 
Mollusca: 

Ostrea tecticosta Gabb Anomia argentaria Morton 

Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck Paranomia scabra (Morton) 

Exogyra costata Say Cardium sp. 

Exogyra costata var. cancellata 
Stephenson 


1 Geol. Surv. of Ga., Bull. No. 15, 1908, p. 146. 


















RIPLEY FORMATION 


191 


Locality No. 3053.—Lanneyhassey Creek, four miles south of 
Buena Vista, Marion County, Ga. S. W. McCallie; collector. 
Mollusca: 

Cucullaea sp. Pecten argillensis Conrad 

Inoceramus sp. Cardium eufaulense Conrad ? 

Exogyra costata Say Panopea decisa Conrad 

Locality No. 305If.—Cut in public road near Central of Georgia 
Railway bridge across Ninchafoonee creek, five miles northwest of 
Buena Vista, Marion County, Ga. S. W. McCallie, Collector. 
Mollusca: 

Veniella sp. (cf. sp. from Hodges old mill, S. C.) 

Cardium (Trachycardium) alabamense Gabb 

Aphrodina sp. 

Turritella trilira Conrad 

Fossils have been collected from typical marine beds of the forma¬ 
tion at one place in Schley County. This locality is at the water 
mill'of J. L. B. Usry, seven miles north of Ellaville and one-half mile 
east of Murray Crossroads. The fossils were obtained just below the 
west end of the milldam from a poor exposure of light green to 
greenish yellow, massive, marine sand, indurated in layers at the 
water’s edge, and one foot above the water’s edge. The remains con¬ 
sist of very soft shells and shell prints. The forms listed below were 
recognized: 

Locality No. 6^82.—List of fossils from J. L. B. TJsry’s mill, seven 
miles north of Ellaville, Ga., and one-half mile east of Murray Cross¬ 
roads. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

Mollusca: 

Nemodon sp. 

Ostrea plumosa Morton 
Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck 
(small) 

Exogyra costata Say (small, but 
apparently typical) 

Pecten argillensis Conrad ? 

Pecten Simplicius Conrad 
Lima sp. 

Pecten quinquenarius Conrad 
Anomia argentaria Morton 

The farthest locality to the eastward at which the typical marine 
Ripley beds have been observed is in a cut of the Atlanta, Birming¬ 
ham & Atlantic Railroad, one and one-eighth miles north of Ideal, 
Macon County. The section exposed here is described below: (See 
also plate XII, B.) 


Paranomia scabra (Morton) 
Pholadomya sp. 

Lucina sp. 

Tenea ? 

Cardium spillmani Conrad 
Cardium sp. 

Legumen planulatum (Conrad) 
Turritella trilira Conrad 
Undetermined pelecypods 
Corbula crassiplica Gabb 


192 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section in'cut of Atlanta , Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad, one and 
' one-eighth miles north of Ideal, Ga. 


Upper Cretaceous. Feet. In. 

Ripley formation. (Exogyra costata zone.) 

7. Loose, yellow, pebbly sand, probably creep .... 4 

6. Yellow massive fine, micaceous, argillaceous sand, 

a weathered marine sand. 7 

5. Gray, laminated, micaceous, sandy, marine clay, 

with fine sand partings. 4 

4. Weathered, fine, yellow, argillaceous, marine sand 8 

3. Iron crust. V 2 

2. Dark, gray, finely arenaceous and micaceous, com¬ 
pact clay, weathering somewhat shaley. Con¬ 
tains poor prints and casts of fossils.20 

1. Dark gray to yellow, massive, marine sand with 

numerous fossil prints at south end of cut ... 4 


The fossils listed below were obtained from layers Nos. 1 and 2 
in the above section. 


Locality No. 6183.—List from cut of Atlanta, Birmingham & 
Atlantic Railroad, one and one-eighth miles north of Ideal , Ga. At 
base of layer No. 2. L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


Mollusca: 

Cucullaea vulgaris Morton ? 
Crassatellites sp. 

Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Cardium spillmani Conrad 
Cardium sp. 

Vertebrata: 

Lamna texana Roemer 
Corax falcatus Agassiz 
Otodus appendiculatus Agassiz? 


Cyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Cyprimeria densata (Conrad) 
Aphrodina sp. 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) ? 
Turritella trilira .Conrad 

Fragments of bones 
Tooth of mosasauroid reptile (Ident. 
by C. W. Gilmore) 


At Marshallville in the eastern part of Macon County, beds which 
probably represent the eastward buried extension of the typical 
marine beds have been penetrated in a well boring. (See section, 
p. 197 of this report.) 


Region between Chattahoochee and Ocniulgee rivers (Providence 
sand member).—Westward from Chattahoochee River in Alabama, 
and northeastward from the river in Georgia, the uppermost of the 
typical marine beds of the Ripley formation merge into shallow water 
equivalents. These strata constitute the Providence sand of. Yeatch. 
In this report they are treated as a member of the Ripley formation. 

The points farthest south in Georgia where the Providence sand 
has been observed are in two cuts of the Central of Georgia Railway, 
five and three-quarters and six miles, respectively, southeast of 
Eufaula, Ala., in Quitman County, Ga. The first cut reveals 20 or 
25 feet of coarse, irregularly bedded, reddish and yellowish sands 






GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XVII. 



A. 


OOT OF SOUTHERN RAILWAY ONE-THIRD MILE NORTH OF ZENITH ST\- 
TI S^At CRAWFORD COUNTY, SHOWING CONTACT BETWEEN THE 
RIPLEY FORMATION AND SAND OF PROBABLE EOCENE AGE. 



B. CUT OF ATLANTA, BIRMINGHAM & ATLANTIC RAILROAD. ONE AND ONE- 
EIGHTH MILES NORTH OF IDEAL. MACON COUNTY. GA., SHOWING 
MARINE SANDS AND CLAYS OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 















































































* 























































. 















RIPLEY FORMATION 


193 


with iron crusts at intervals. The base of the sands of this char¬ 
acter is not clearly revealed, but the relations are such as to show 
conclusively that they occupy a stratigraphic position closely above 
the uppermost of the marine beds in the section three-quarters of a 
mile northwest of this point, described on page 183. 

The second cut, six miles from Eufaula, reveals the contact be¬ 
tween the Providence sand member and the overlying Eocene beds. 
The relation between these divisions are shown in Eig. 13. 


SE. NW. 



400' ± 


Fig. 13.—Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway, six miles south¬ 
east of Eufaula, Ala., in Quitman County, Ga. 

Explanation of Figure. 

Eocene. 

2. Deep red, ferruginous, coarse sand massive in appearance 
in upper weathered portion; lighter in color, coarser, 
and showing some crossbedding along base; in lower 
2 or 3 feet contains reworked clay balls, iron crusts, and in 
• places angular quartz pebbles up to 2 inches in diameter. 

Upfcer Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Providence sand member) 

1. Coarse, crossbedded, light gray, yellowish and pinkish sand 
with subordinate lenses of drab, pinkish, coarsely sandy, mas¬ 
sive clays. 

Layers 8 to 15 inclusive in the section at Stewarts Hill on Chat¬ 
tahoochee River, five and one-half miles above Eufaula in Quitman 
County, Ga., described on page 174, probably represent the transition 
from the typical marine beds of the formation to the overlying Provi¬ 
dence sand member. 

An excellent exposure of the Providence sand member is furnished 
by a deep gully to the west of the Eufaula-Lumpkin road, 10% 
miles northeast of Georgetown, Ga. According to aneroid estimates 
the elevation of the road at this point is about 350 feet above the 
floor of the wagon bridge at- Eufaula. The gully which is down 
the slope to the west of the road, exposes about 100 feet of materials 
consisting principally of coarse, crossbedded, varicolored sands with 
occasional clay lenses. The sands in places contain numerous small 
clay balls and one layer of large clay boulders was observed. Occa- 











194 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


sional iron crust layers occur. The base of the section is about 130 
feet below the level of the road. (See plate XVIII, A.) 

The most complete section of the Providence sand member is fur¬ 
nished by a series of deep gullies near Providence, an abandoned 
postoffice eight miles a little north of west of Lumpkin. This is the 
type locality for this division. One of the gullies just south of the 
Lumpkin-Florence road shows the relation of the division to the 
overlying Eocene beds. The section follows: 

Section in gully south of Lumpkin-Florence road near Providence 
P. 0. (now discontinued), eight miles a little north of west of Lump¬ 
kin, in Stewart County, Ga. 

Feet. 

5. Dark red, sandy loam with iron crusts at base.15 

(Unconformity) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. 

(Providence sand member.) 

4. Irregularly bedded, white, yellow, red and purple, 
fine to medium grained sand, somewhat ar¬ 
gillaceous in places. 

3. Yellow, argillaceous sand, becoming more argilla¬ 
ceous towards base. Conformably overlies the 

next layer below. 

(Typical marine beds). 

2. Dark gray, thinly laminated, finely arenaceous and 
micaceous clay. Contains some bits of lignite 
and small bits of amber. 

1. Dark greenish gray, micaceous, slightly argillace¬ 
ous and glauconitic sand, with numerous soft 
fossil casts in the upper part and with shells in 
the lower 2 or 3 feet. 

On the hill slope above the top of the preceding section there are 
poor exposures of white Eocene limestone containing poorly pre¬ 
served fossils. A similar limestone outcrops in the road, two or 
three miles to the east towards Lumpkin. 

In a cut of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, just east of the station 
at Lumpkin, Stewart County, the supposed top of the Providence 
sand, consisting of several feet of light-colored, very sandy clay, is 
seen, overlain by four to six feet of iron-stained ferruginous clay 
bearing a few very poorly preserved shell impressions, the latter re¬ 
garded as the base of the Eocene. 

Xorthward from Lumpkin on the Lumpkin-Louvale road, there are 
numerous exposures in which the beds of this formation appear. The 
following section was made in an abandoned railroad cut, one and 
one-half miles north of Lumpkin: 


120 

10 

15 

25 







RIPLEY FORMATION 


195 


Section in abandoned railroad cut just west of Lumpkin-Louvale road, 
one and one-half miles north of Lumpkin, Ga. 

Eocene ? . Feet. 

2. Reddish brown, ferruginous, coarse sand .... 20 

(Unconformity, undulating, slightly irregular, 
sharp contact, marked in places by a thin iron 
crust.) 

Ripley formation. 

(Providence sand member.) 

1. Variegated, white, yellow, pink, red and purple, 
very coarse sand, crossbedded and loose, where 
locally indurated to ferruginous sandstone . . 30 

The supposed Cretaceous-Eocene contact in the section just de¬ 
scribed is about 70 or 75 feet below the general upland level. 

To the north of the preceding section the road is over deep red, 
compact, ferruginous sand, probably referable to the Eocene, to a 
point two and one-half miles north of Lumpkin, where it passes into 
coarse, light-colored, loose sands residual from the Providence sand. 

At three and three and one-half miles, respectively, north of Lump¬ 
kin, the coarse, crossbedded sands of the Providence sand member 
are well exposed in gullies about 50 or 60 feet in depth. 

~No detailed observations were made along the Seaboard Air Line 
Railway south of Renfroes. However, between Renfroes and Brook¬ 
lyn the coarse sands of the Providence member were seen from the 
train in shallow cuts and in gullies on the hill-slopes. Between 
Brooklyn and Richland the sub-soil for the greater part of the dis¬ 
tance is red, and has the characteristic appearance of the basal Eocene 
beds of the region. 

The logs of a number of wells in Stewart County which penetrate 
Cretaceous strata are given below. In each case the authority for 
the lithology is the owner unless otherwise stated. 

Log of well owned by W. S. Boyett, four miles south of Lumpkin, Ga. 


Eocene ? 

5. Red clay . 0-30 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. (Providence sand member.) 

4. “Chalk” (clay) white and pink. ? 

3. Coarse sand with small rock (pebbles). ? 

2. “Chalk” (clay).. ? 

1. Thick layer of white sand. ? 

(“and so on until water was struck.”) 

Total. 70 


In another well 132 feet deep, located 25 yards from the preceding, 
water was obtained in coarse sand 128 to 132 feet below the surface. 
It is probable that all the strata penetrated in this well below the red 
Eocene clay should be referred to the Providence sand member. 








196 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Log of well owned by Mrs. Marion Glenn, one mile southeast of 
Brooklyn , Ga. Authority for lithology, J. M. Glenn, of Brooklyn. 


Eocene. 

4. Red clay with gravel rock (pebbles). 

Upper Cretaceous 

Ripley formation (Providence sand member). 

3. “Chalk” (clay). 

2. White and yellow sand and occasionally a bed of 
rock four to five feet thick, water-bearing at base 

1. Stopped in “chalk” (clay). 


0 - 30 

30 - 40 
40 - 110 


Total 110 

A 140-foot well located 50 feet from the preceding is said to have 
penetrated similar materials. 

Log of well owned by E. M. Averett, one-quarter mile east of Ren- 
froes, Ga. Authority for lithology, C. V. Stephens, of Renfroes, Ga. 

Upper Cretaceous. Feet. 

Ripley formation. (Providence sand member ?) 

4. Sand, gray or white. 0- 8 

3. Light yellow, firm clay . 8-26 

2. Soft, yellow sand .26-56 

1. Sand and clay, water-bearing . 56-60 

Coarse, light-colored sands and clays of the Cusseta sand member 
of the formation appear in cuts and in other exposures in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity of Buena Yista, Marion County. 

The supposed contact of the Providence sand member with the 
overlying Eocene is seen in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway, 
one mile southeast of Buena Yista. (See plate XYIII, B, opposite 
p. 208.) The section here is as follows: 

Section in cut of Central of Georgia Railway one mile southeast of 

Buena Vista, Ga. 


Eocene ? x * eet - ln * 

5. Dark red, massive sand with a line of small peb¬ 
bles and iron crusts, 1 % feet above base ... 9 6 

4. Irregular layer- of iron crusts and botryoidal iron 
concretions with some admixture of argillaceous 

sand, average. 1 

3. Light drab clay mottled with yellow, with irregular 

patches of yellow limonitic clay along base . . 3 

2. Slightly undulating iron crust. 14 

(Unconformity ? ) 

Upper Cretaceous ? 

Ripley formation. (Providence sand member.) 

1. Light drab, massive clay, mottled with yellow 

and purple, containing irregular iron concretions 5 

The Providence sand outcrops in Schley County in a belt two or 
three miles wide extending east and west just north of the center of 
the county. Little is known of the details of its occurrences. 












RIPLEY FORMATION 


197 


In Macon County the underlying typical marine beds of the for¬ 
mation are believed to merge finally into materials of the Providence 
sand type, at least so far as surface outcrops are concerned. Beyond 
this county to the eastward the Providence sand makes up the entire 
thickness of the Exogyra costata zone, the beds resting directly and 
conformably upon the Cusseta sand member of the formation. 

The supposed contact of the formation with the superj acent Eocene 
beds was observed at an exposure at Barrows Mill, about four and 
one-half miles east of Marshallville. (See Port Valley soil map, one 
and one-fourth miles southeast of Willow Lake, in square hearing the 
number 161.) 

Section at Barrows Mill > Houston County. 


Eocene 

3. Reddish, sandy loam (weathered). 3 

2. Brownish, argillaceous sand and sandy clay, dark 
to black where unweathered, containing Eocene 

fossils. 4 

(Unconformity ? ) 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation (Providence sand member) ? 

1. Light gray, very coarse, very arkosic sand, 

streaked in places with yellow. 3 

A well owned by the town of Marshallville in Macon County, pene¬ 
trated strata referable to the Bipley formation, from a depth of 25 
feet to the bottom. The log given below was furnished by the con¬ 
tractor, Mr. M. bT. Brewer. It is copied from Bulletin bfo. 15 of 
the Geological Survey of Georgia, 1908, p. 145. 


Log of ivell at Marshallville, Ga. 


1 A 


Feet. 

. 1-25 

9. 

Q 

Sand with some pipe clay. 

.25-90 

.90-185 

O. 


.185-230 

7. 

a 


. 230-270 

b. 

mne gr <xy .. • •.* * 

. 270-320 

5. 

4. 

3. 

2. 

1. 

Sand (water-hearing). 

. 320-370 

. 370-380 

. 380-390 

. 390-397 


The upper 25 feet of the materials described in the preceding well 
should probably he referred to the Eocene. The beds from 25 to 
370 feet probably belong to the Providence sand member of the Kip- 
ley formation; those from 370 to 397 are believed to fonn the east¬ 
ward buried extension of the typical marine beds of the Bipley for¬ 
mation. 















198 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Veatch, in his clay report, pp. 209-211, and 215-217, has de¬ 
scribed Cretaceous clay deposits in Houston County, a part of which 
are believed to be referable to the Providence sand member. The fol¬ 
lowing are quotations from his report: 

“In Houston County notable deposits of white clay were observed in the 
vicinity of Perry, Fort Valley, and Byron. With the exception of clay min¬ 
ing at Perry, there are no clay industries in the county, and the clay deposits 
are undeveloped. 

“Perry —A deposit of kaolin occurs on the Yancey property on Bay 
Creek, two miles northwest of Perry. This clay was described by the writer 
ih Bulletin 315 of the United States Geological Survey, but since the above 
description was written a small mine has been opened up and the property 
to some extent developed * * * . The clay bed at the point mined 
has shown a maximum thickness of 18 feet. The clay is soft, massive bedded 
and jointed, though the jointing is not as extensive as in the Dry Branch 
region, and slickensided surfaces along the joint planes were not observed. 
The bed upon the whole is very free from sandy impurity, but it may grade 
into or be replaced by sand, and may be split by sand layers. * * * 

“The overburden consists of very fine variegated, quartz and micaceous 
sands which 7 /ill show a maximum thickness of about 80 feet. 

“A pocket of white clay was noted on the Macon road, 5 miles northeast 
of Perry. The clay is exposed in a gully along the public road near the 
crossing of Mossy Creek. The deposit, owing to its inaccessibility, is of no 
value at present, but is instructive in showing the geological occurrence of 
the white clays of the Upper Cretaceous (?). The deposit is lens-shaped or 
cigar shaped, having a maximum thickness in the center, and tapering at 
each end; the full extent of the bed can be observed. The bed is about 100 
feet in length, and has a maximum thickness of 8 feet and is overlain and 
underlain by red sand. Doubtless numerous other outcrops of white clay 
may be found eastward from Perry. 

“Bonaire .—Bonaire is located on the Georgia Southern and Florida Rail- 
road in the eastern part of Houston county, and is about 23 miles south of 
Macon. A deposit of white clay lying about four miles southeast of this 
place, on the property of Chas. Thompson, has attracted some attention on 
account of the conspicuousness of the outcrop. The clay is exposed at the 
base of a steep bluff bordering the Ocmulgee River swamp, and the bed is 
laid bare by the water flowing from a rather bold spring above it. The follow- 
ing is a vertical section of the bluff: 


6 . Loose, brown sand. 6 

5. Thin, drab clay layer. 3 

4. Red sand. 4 

3. White stained clay. 4 

2. White sand. 15 

1. White stained clay. 10+ 


“The clay bed, No. 1, is semi-hard, bluish white, with purplish and yellow 
stains of iron oxide, which seem to permeate the mass of the clay and are not 
merely surface stains. Doubtless a greater thickness than is shown above, 
will be found; the lateral extent of the bed has not been determined, but no 
natural exposure of it were seen either to the north or to the south of the 
outcrop at the spring. It is believed the strata here belong to the Upper 
Cretaceous sands, a characteristic of which is lens-shaped beds of clay, rather 
restricted in area.” 

The logs of several wells in this county which are believed to 
penetrate strata of the Providence member are given below. Tho. 
owners are authority for the lithology, except as otherwise indicated. 








RIPLEY FORMATION 


199 


Log of well owned by T. W. Leverett at Welision , Ga. 


Pleistocene ? Feet 

2. Stiff, hard, red clay, about. 0-40 

Upper Cretaceous ? 


Ripley formation (Providence sand member) 

1. Coarse sand with numerous flint rocks (pebbles) 
as large as end of the thumb, water-bearing in 


lower eight feet. 40-68 

Log of well owned by J. A. Smith, three and one-half miles west of 

Wellston, Ga. 

Eocene ? Feet. 

2. Solid red clay. 0-20 

Upper Cretaceous 

Ripley formation (Providence sand member) 


1. Yellow and white sand, in part fine alternating 
with “chalk” (clay), water-bearing in sand in 


lower 3 feet.. . 20-93 

Log of well owned by W. A. Stubbs and one-half miles east of Wells¬ 
ton, Ga. 

Eocene ? Feet. 

2. Hard red clay. 0-25 

Upper Cretaceous 

1. Alternating beds of “chalk” (clay) and sand of 
various colors, white, bluish, yellow, etc., water¬ 
bearing below 207 feet. 25-216 


Doubtless all of tbe sand and clay beds included in division "No. 1 
of tbe above log are referable to tbe Upper Cretaceous. The upper 
part of tbe division is believed referable to tbe Providence sand mem¬ 
ber of tbe Kipley formation, but it is probable that at some depth 
tbe well entered tbe upper strata of tbe subjacent Cusseta sand mem¬ 
ber of tbe formation, tbe latter forming tbe basal portion of tbe 
section and furnishing the water-bearing material. 

Iwg of well owned by T. N. White, three miles south of Dunbar, Ga. 

Eocene ? 

2. Red clay. 

Upper Cretaceous 

1. White sand, except two layers of “chalk” (clay) 

each one foot thick, water-bearing in lower 3 
feet. 

Log 1 of well at Perry f Ga. 

6. Red massive clay. 

5. White clay. 

4. Yellowish sand, with 4 inches of impervious iron at 
itis fociso • .*»#••••••••••••••• 

3. Sand with thin partings of clay.• • • 

2. Dark carbonaceous materials—possibly lignite . . 

1. Coarse gravel at. 


Feet. 

0-20 


20-106 


Feet. 

0-10 

10 - 10 % 

ioy 3 -5o 

50-132 

132-136 

136 


iGeol. Survey of Georgia Bull. No. 15, 1908, p. 121. 
















200 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


An undetermined upper portion of the* section just described is 
referable to the Eocene, but the greater part of the section belongs 
to the Providence sand member of the Riplev formation. 

DETAILED SECTIONS. (WELLS SOUTH OF THE BELT OF OUTCROP.) 

At a number of places in Georgia well borings have been made that 
have passed through overlying Tertiary beds, entering and pene¬ 
trating to various depths the beds of the Ripley formation beneath. 
Eew reliable records have been kept, however, and the available 
information if meager. A well at Albany, Dougherty County fur¬ 
nishes the most instructive section of any yet recorded from the 
region. The log of this well was furnished by Mr. C. W. Tift, of 
Albany. The fossils, also furnished by Mr. Tift, were determined 
by Dr. T, Wayland Vaughan. This log was published in Bulletin 
No. 15 of the Geological Survey of Georgia, 1908, pp. 98, 99. It is 
here repeated, and in addition an attempt is made to correlate the 
Cretaceous portion of the section with the Cretaceous formations 
outcropping at the surface to the northward in the State. The writer 
has examined a part of the Cretaceous fossils obtained from the well 
and has made one or two slight changes in the determinations. 

Log of City Artesian Well No. 2, Albany, Ga. 


Tertiary: Feet. 

35. Red clay. 0-20 

34. Light colored clay. 20-23 

33. Coarse sand" (Vicksburg). 23-25 

32. Light colored clay and coarse quartz sand .... 25-35 

31. Limestone, Orbitoides sp. at 150 feet, and from 

190 to 200 feet. 35-200 

30. Gray limestone, Orbitoides sp., Echinoid, Bryo- 
zoa, Terebratulina lachryma (Morton), some 

shale from 230 to 240 feet. 200-280 

29. Gray sand with comminuted shells ( Ostrea ) . . 280-285 

28. Some shale, coarse sand, shell, and sharks’ 

teeth, at. 311 

27. Hard layer, Ostrea divaricata Lea. 318-320 

26. Ostrea divaricata Lea at. 330 

25. Ostrea alabamiensis Lea at. 340 

24. Shale or marl, water vein at. 350 

23. Ostrea divaricata Lea and Ostrea alabamiensis 

Lea at. 363 

22. Bed of lignite at. 367 

21. Bed of lignite at. 400 

20. Sand. 400-475 

19. Stiff blue clay Echinoid spines, Lamna sp. (teeth) 470-475 

18. Stiff blue clay. 475-480 

17. Hard gray sandstone. 485-488 

Upper Cretaceous 
Ripley formation. 

16. Ostrea sp. and Exogyra costata Say ?. 500-510 

15. Pyrite and small oysters at. 520 




















RIPLEY FORMATION 


201 


14. Greensands and greenish micaceous shales . . . 530-540 

13. Gray sand with black particles at. 600 

12. Water-bearing horizon, limestone, with pieces of 

nard gray sandstone between 785 and 790 feet . 690-790 

11. Hard rock. 790-800 

10. Clay shales, white limestone between 835 and 840 800-850 

9. Limestone, shales, etc. At 880 feet limestone or 

calcareous sand, also light gray micaceous sand 850-890 
8. Grayish sand, calcareous, fragments, hard black 
pieces of pebbles, Ostrea sp., Anomia argentaria 
Morton. [Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck 
(young)] at 890 feet; water-bearing micaceous 

stone between 920 and 930 feet. 890-940 

7. Blue, micaceous clay at 950 feet, thick shelled 
oyster, Gryphaea sp., the same also at 1,080 
feet; at 1,100 feet gray sand with Ostrea sub- 


spatulata Forbes, Exogyra costata Say .... 940-1100 

6. Stiff blue clay, micaceous sandstone, Ostrea cre- 


tacea Morton (>). 1100-1200 

5. Very stiff blue clay, at 1255 feet, streaks of sand 
and shells, a small flow of water; from 1240 

to 1260 soft shiny blue clay. 1200-1260 

4. Marl, gray sand, sandstone lumps. 1260-1270 

3. Gray and black sand, sandstone lumps. 1270-1310 

2. Black, irregular, water-worn pebbles with hard 
crystalline fracture; coarse and fine quartz 
sand, shells, decayed wood, third water-bearing 

stratum; 50 gallons per minute.1310-1315 

1. Well ends in quartz sand at. 1320 


A well at Blakely, in Early County, entered the upper beds of the 
formation at some depth between 160 and 500 feet, hut probably 
nearer the latter depth. The log was furnished by Mr. S. S. Chand¬ 
ler and the fossils were determined by Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan. 
This log was published in Bulletin TTo. 15 of the Geological Survey 
of Georgia, 1908, pp. 105, 106. It is here repeated. 

* Log of town well, Blahely, Early County, Ga. 


Feet. 

14. Red, sandy clay. 1-10 

13. Coarse, grayish sand . 10-20 

12. Coarse, light-yellowish sand. 20-30 

11. Yellowish cherty limestone (Vicksburg) .... 30-40 

10. Yellowish, or grayish, sandstone .. 40-50 

9. Light-colored, almost white, calcareous sand¬ 
stone, probably base of Vicksburg. 50-70 

8. Gray sands, darker at bottom. 70-140 

7. Greenish sands, with Ostrea divaricata Lea . . . 140-160 

6. Fine gray sand, hard ledge at bottom. 160-285 

5. Fine sand, with some clay. 285-290 

4. Bluish clay.’. . 290-490 

3. Quartz sand, with glauconite. 490-500 

2. Hard sandstone with glauconite. Two oysters, 
apparently Gryphaea sp. and Exogyra costata 

Say . 500-510 

1. Grayish or bluish sands. 510-580 





















202 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Mr. George R. Irwin, of Fort Gaines, Ga., has furnished the fol¬ 
lowing log of a well drilled by S. S. Chandler, in August, 1909, in 
Henry County, Alabama, two and one-half miles northwest of Fort 
Gaines, Ga. The writer is authority for the attempted correlation: 

Log of well owned by George R. Irwin, located two and one-half 
miles northwest of Fort Gaines, Ga., in Henry County, Ala., on 
Chattahoochee River bottom, 700 yards west of the river at an eleva¬ 
tion of 15 feet above high water mark. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). Feet. 

17. Clay and sand. 1-30 

Eocene. 

16. Soft lime rock. 30-75 

15. Hard lime rock. 75-125 

14. Marl. 125-135 

13. Hard lime rock. 135-140 

12. Marl. 140-170 

11. Coarse sand. 170-180 

Upper Cretaceous. 

Ripley formation. 

10. Hard sand rock (or indurated sand). 180-186 

9. Coarse sand. 186-190 

8 . Hard sand rock (first flow of 10 to 11 gallons per 

minute at this depth measured from top of 

pump 7 feet above the surface). 190-196 

7. Coarse sand. 196-202 

6 . Hard sand rock. 202-207 

5. Coarse sand. 207-210 

4. Sand rock. 210-212 

3. Coarse sand. 212-215 

2. Marl. 215-217 


1 . Hard sand rock with some soft spots. At 230-235 
feet the second flow of 25 to 30 gallons per min¬ 
ute was found, flowed this amount from top of 
6 -inch pipe. Well stopped in the rock .... 217-240 

A number of flowing artesian wells have been drilled at Monte¬ 
zuma. The log of the deepest of these has been published in Bulletin 
Ho. 15 of the Geological Survey of Georgia, 1908, p. 142. The log 
was furnished by Mr. E. J. Wilson, the contractor. It is as follows: 


Feet. 

18. Sand to. 6 

17. White clay to .*. 18 

16. Limestone to. 20 

15. Sand and clay to. 50 

14. Bluish tough clay to. 60 

13. Sand with mica to. 75 

12 . Blue clay to. 95 

11. Sand and blue clay to. 155 

10. Fine, micaceous sand to. 160 

9. Sand and clay to. 190 

8 . Sand with thin layers of flint to. 310 

7. Clay and fossil wood to. 350 

6 . Limestone containing shells to. 352 































RIPLEY FORMATION 


203 


5. Micaceous sand to. 356 

4. Clay interstratified with sand to. 416 

3. Fossiliferous limestone with layers of sand to ... . 480 

2. Clay to. 496 

1. Sand to. 500 


No fossils were observed from the above described well and an 
attempt to distinguish the formations penetrated can be nothing 
more than a rough guess based upon the descriptions of the materials 
as furnished by the driller. Layer No. 18 is probably Pleistocene 
terrace sand; layers 10 to 17 inclusive probably belong to the 
Eocene; layers 1 to 9 probably include representatives of the Provi¬ 
dence sand and the typical marine beds of the Ripley formation. 
If these correlations are correct the two water-bearing strata referred 
to by Prof. McCallie at 60 and 150 feet, respectively, are Eocene 
horizons, and those at 350 and 500 feet, respectively, are Ripley Cre¬ 
taceous horizons. 

An oil-prospecting well, located three and one-half miles south¬ 
west of Louisville, in Jefferson County, penetrated Cretaceous strata 
in part. The log is given on page 107 of this report. Fossils char¬ 
acteristic of the Claiborne group of the Eocene were obtained at 
a depth of 250 feet. A fragment of a turtle plate, supposed to be 
referable to the Upper Cretaceous, was obtained at a depth of 380 
feet. On the basis of these fossils the contact between the Cretaceous 
and Eocene is believed to be somewhere between the depths indi¬ 
cated, and it is here tentatively placed at 350 feet. Crystalline base¬ 
ment rocks were encountered at 1,140 feet. The probable total 
thickness of Cretaceous strata penetrated, therefore, is 790 feet. 

The data obtained from the Louisville well was insufficient to per¬ 
mit distinguishing between Upper and Lower Cretaceous strata, but 
it is believed that beds of both ages are represented. Doubtless the 
lower 500 or 600 feet of the Cretaceous portion of the section should 
be referred to the Lower Cretaceous and the remainder to the Upper 
Cretaceous, perhaps to the Ripley formation. 

Wells at Arlington and Leary in Calhoun County, at Dawson in 
Terrell County, at Cuthbert in Randolph County, at Fort Gaines in 
Clay County, at Richland in Stewart County, at Americus in Sumter 






204 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


County at Oglethorpe in Macon County, at Perry in Houston 
County, at Byromville in Dooly County, at Cordele in Crisp County, 
and at Dublin in Laurens County, and perhaps at other places, are 
of sufficient depth to pass through the Eocene deposits and enter the 
underlying Cretaceous beds. However, either no logs have been 
kept, or, in cases where logs have been recorded, the information 
given is too indefinite to permit discriminating between Eocene and 
Cretaceous beds. Such detailed information as is known concern¬ 
ing these wells has been published by Prof. S. W. McCallie in Bull. 
Ho. 15 of the Geological Survey of Georgia. 

CORRELATION 

The typical marine beds of the Bipley formation in Georgia are 
very prolific in fossil invertebrates. On the basis of the ranges of 
two species of Exogyra the formation has been divided into two 
parts. The first part embraces the lower one-third or one-half of 
the formation and forms the upper part of the zone of Exogyra pon- 
derosa, of which the lower portion is the Tombigbee sand member 
of the Eutaw formation. The second part, embracing the remainder 
of the formation, is characterized by the presence of Exogyra costata 
and is designated the Exogyra costata zone. These two parts will be 
considered separately. 

Part of Ripley formation included within the zone of Exogyra 
ponderosa. Omitting numerous forms identified generically but 
not specifically, and an occasional form whose specific identification 
is questioned, 34 species of invertebrates have been recognized in 
these beds, as follows: 

1. Hamulus onyx Morton (Rc. Tp.) 

2. Nucula percrassa Conrad (Rc. Tp. Eb.) 

3. Cucullaea carolinensis (Gabb) (Tp.) 

4. Trigonoarca sp. nov. (Roods Bend) 

5. Nemodon brevifrons Conrad 

6. Barbatia lintea Conrad (Tp.) 

7. Ostrea plumosa Morton (Rc. Tp.) 

8. Ostrea tecticosta Gabb (Rc.) 

9. Ostrea sp. nov. (large, Roods Bend, etc.) 

10. Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck (Rc.) 


RIPLEY FORMATION 


205 


31. Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata Stephenson (Tp.) 

12. Trigonia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

13. Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb (Tp.) 

14. Pecten quinquenarius Conrad (Rc.) 

15. Pecten sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) (Tp. Eb.) 

16. Anomia argentaria Morton (Rc. Tp.) 

17. Anomia lintea Conrad 

18. Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from Snow Hill, N. C.) 

(Tp. Eb.) 

19. Veniella conradi (Morton) (Rc. Tp.) 

20. Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad ? (Tp.) 

21. Crassatllites sp. nov. (Roods Bend, etc.) 

22. Lucina glebula Conrad (Tp.) 

23. Cardium eufaulense Conrad (Rc. Tp.) 

24. Isocardia cliffwoodensis Weller ? 

25. Cyprimeria depressa Conrad (Rc. Tp. Eb.) 

26. Cyprimeria densata (Conrad) (Rc.) 

27. Aphrodina regia Conrad 

28. Cyclothyris alta Conrad (Tp.) 

29. Legumen planulatum (Conrad) (Rc. Tp.) 

30. Baroda carolinensis Conrad 

31. Leptosolen biplicata Conrad (Rc. Tp. Eb.) 

32. Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) (Rc. Tp. Eb.) 

33. Corbula carolinensis Conrad (Tp. Eb.) 

34. Gyrodes crenata Conrad 

In the Chattahoochee region, 14 of the 34 species in the list,, 
marked (Rc), range np into the overlying Exogyra costata zone; 20,. 
marked (Tp), occur in the underlying Tombighee member of the 
Eutaw formation; 7, marked (Eb), occur in the basal beds of the 
Eutaw formation, and 10 are restricted to the beds in question. 

The 14 species in the list which range up into the zone of Exogyra 
costata are eliminated from further consideration on account of their 
wide vertical range. The table given below shows the ranges of the 
remaining 20 both within and without the Chattahoochee region: 

Table showing ranges of species which in the Chattahoochee region 
occur in that part of the Ripley formation included within the Exo¬ 
gyra ponderosa zone exclusive of those which range upward into the 
Exogyra costata zone. 


206 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


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Cucullaea carolinensis (Gabb) . . . . 
Trigonoarca sp. nov. (Roods Bend, 

etc.) . 

Nemodon brevifrons Conrad. 

Barbatia lintea Conrad. 

Ostrea sp. nov. (large, Roods Bend, 

etc.) . 

Exogyra ponderosa var. erraticostata 

Stephenson . 

Trigonia sp. nov. (Same as sp. nov. 

from Snow Hill, N. C.). 

Pecten burlingtonensis Gabb. 

Pecten sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from 

Snow Hill, N. C.). 

Anomia lintea Conrad. 

Anomia sp. nov. (same as sp. nov. from 

Snow Hill N. C.). 

Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad . . . 
Crassatellites sp. nov. (Roods Bend, 

etc.) . 

Lucina glebula Conrad. 

Isocardia cliffwoodensis Weller . . . . 

Aphrodina regia Conrad. 

Cyclothyris alta Conrad. 

Baroda carolinensis Conrad. 

Corbula carolinensis Conrad. 

Gyrodes crenata Conrad. 


x 

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Note.—See footnotes on page 207. 

















































RIPLEY FORMATION 


207 


* ^ s P ec ics restricted below the zone of Exogyra ponderosa 

*?■ Chattahoochee region, 10 (one questionably, see foot-note 7 in 
the table) range down into the underlying Tombigbee sand member oi 
the Eutaw formation. Eight of the species (two questionably, see 
foot-note 7 in the table) occur in the Mortoniceras sub-zone of the 
Tombigbee sand in the region to the west of the Chattahoochee region 
in Alabama and Mississippi. Thirteen (four questionably, see foot¬ 
note 7 in the table) occur in that part of the zone of Exogyra pon¬ 
derosa above the Mortoniceras sub-zone in the same region • and two 
occur in the Exogyra costata zone in northern Mississippi. 

In the Carolina region all but one of the 20 species occur in the 
Black Creek formation, and one (or questionably two) ranges up 
into the overlying Peedee sand. 

In Hew Jersey three of the 20 species occur in the Magothy for¬ 
mation and five (two questionably, see foot-notes 3 and 5 in the 
table) occur in the Matawan groups. The Merchantville clay- 
marl which forms the basal portion of the Matawan group is 
believed to correspond approximately to the Tombigbee sand mem¬ 
ber of the Eutaw formation (see pp. 145'149 of this report), which 
underlies that portion of the Chattahoochee section now being con¬ 
sidered. By referring to the foot-notes in the table it will be seen 
that all of the five species occurring in the Matawan groups are 
present in beds above the Merchantville clay-marl, but that three of 
the five also range down into the Merchantville beds. 

Of the 20 restricted species given in the table only three are known 
to range above the zone of Exogyra ponderosa into the zone of Exo¬ 
gyra costata anywhere in the Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf regions. 

The conclusions reached regarding the age and stratigraphic 
relations of the beds under consideration may be summed up as fol¬ 
lows: 

In the Chattahoochee region these beds fill in the gap between 
the underlying Mortoniceras sub-zone of the Tombigbee sand and the 
base of the overlying Exogyra costata zone. These two delimiting 
horizons are traceable throughout the greater extent of the eastern 
Gulf Upper Cretaceous, and by this means the equivalents of the 


Occurs in Wenonah sand of Matawan group. 

2 Occurs in Merchantville clay-marl, Woodbury clay, and Wenonah sand of Matawan 
group. 

3 Probably same as Lucina cretacea Whitfield from the Woodbury clay of the Matawan 
group. 

Occurs in the Woodbury clajr and Wenonah sand of the Matawan group. 

5 Probably same as Corbula bisulcata Conrad which occurs in the Magothy formation 
and in the Merchantville clay-marl and the Woodbury clay of the Matawan group. 

Occurs in the Merchantville clay marl, Woodbury clay, and Wenonah sand of -the 
Matawan group. 

7 The questionably identified species Crassatellites carolinensis Conrad and Lucina 
gleliula Conrad, although not confidently referred to these species belong to types of the 
genus not known to occur above the zone of Exogyra ponderosa. 



208 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

beds are fixed for practically the whole of the region. The con¬ 
tained fanna as developed in the Chattahoochee region is traceable 
westward between these limits into Alabama as far as the. central 
part of Bnllock County, being well developed in the vicinity of 
Union Springs. In Bullock County the beds merge horizontally into 
the strata forming the lower half of the Selma chalk. The condi¬ 
tions under which the chalk beds were laid down appear to have 
been unfavorable for the existence or for the preservation of many 
of the species characterizing the fauna in the Chattahoochee region, 
for in the chalk the fauna is poorly represented; however, many of 
the forms reappear again in non-chalky representatives of the same 
beds in northern Mississippi. 

The evidence for correlating the beds in question with the inverte¬ 
brate-bearing beds of the Black Creek formation of the Carolinas is 
very strong; for of the 20 species restricted below the zone of 
Exogym costata in the Chattahoochee region 19 occur in the Black 
Creek formation, and only one (or questionably two) of the 19 is 
known in the overlying Peedee beds. 

Six of the 20 species (two questionably) occur in the Matawan 
group of Hew Jersey and none of the six are known in the overlying 
Monmouth formation. The evidence is satisfactory therefore foi 
regarding the Chattahoochee beds under consideration as correspond¬ 
ing to the Matawan group exclusive, however, of the Merchant- 
ville clay-marl which forms the base of the Matawan. For reasons 
given in a preceding chapter (p. 149) the Merchantville beds are con¬ 
sidered the equivalents of the underlying Tombigbee sand member 
of the Eutaw formation. 

The remains of a few vertebrate animals, consisting of teeth and 
fragments of bones, have been found in the formation. The forms 
thus far identified are given in the list below: 

Pisces: 

Corax falcatus Agassiz 
Lamna texana Roemer 
Otodus sp. 

Ischyrhiza mira Leidy (Identified by J. W. Gidley) 

Reptilia: (Identified by C. W. Gilmore.) 

Fragments of the turtle Taphrosphys 
Fragment of large dinosaur limb bone 
Vertebra of mososauroid reptile 
Thecachampsa rugosa Emmons (vertebra) 

Polyde^tes biturgidus Cope (teeth) 

The sharks, Corax falcatus Agassiz and Lamna texana Roemer, 
are wide ranging forms, both geographically and stratigraphically, 
and have no value in correlation. Of the sphyrseoid, Ischyrhiza 
mira Leidy, Mr. Gidley says: a This species is abundant in the 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XVIII. 



A. GULLY 10% MILES NORTHEAST OF GEORGETOWN, SHOWING COARSE. 
UNCONSOLIDATED SANDS OF THE PROVIDENCE SAND MEMBER 
OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION. 



B CUT OF C. OF GA. RY.. ONE MILE SOUTHEAST OF BUENA VISTA, SHOWING 
UNCONFORMABLE CONTACT BETWEEN PROVIDENCE SAND MEMBER 
OF THE RIPLEY AND OVERLYING EOCENE. 












RIPLEY FORMATION 


209 


gTeen sand formations of tlie eastern and southeastern United States 
coast, and ranges in time through the Tertiary period .’ 7 

The two crocodilian species, Tliecachampsa rugosa Emmons, and 
Polydectes biturgidis Cope, have also been identified by Mr. Gil- 
moie fiom Phoebus Landing, Cape Fear Piver, FT. C., an upper 
Black Creek horizon. This evidence is therefore corroborative of that 
afforded hv the fossil invertebrates. 

Too little is known of the range of the remainder of the forms 
listed to render them of value in correlation. 

Fossil plants have been found in the Cusseta member of the 
Ripley formation at two localities; one, six miles northeast of 
Buena A ista, in Marion County, and the other near Bvron, in 
Houston County. E. AY. Berry, to whom the plants were sub¬ 
mitted, recognized from the first named locality six species. Con¬ 
cerning these he says: (Quoted from an unpublished manuscript.) 

\ 

“Three of the foregoing occur in the underlying Eutaw beds and all but 
the Ficus, which is new, are found in the Black Creek beds of North and 
South Carolina. The Andromeda. Araucaria, and Doryanthophyllum, occur 
in the Tuscaloosa formation, but are confined, so far as known, to the so- 
called upper Tuscaloosa beds near Havana in Hale County, Ala., although it 
is probable that the former will be identified from earlier horizons in Tusca¬ 
loosa. They are all, moreover, especially characteristic species of the Black. 
Creek beds, and the Andromeda is one of the type fossils of the Magothy 
formation of the northern Coastal Plain, although it makes its earliest ap¬ 
pearance in the Raritan formation, as does also the Eucalyptus. * * * 

Concerning those from Byron, he says: 

“These plants number but three species: Dryopteris sp. nov. Berry, Cun- 
ningJiamites elegans (Corda) Endl., and Araucaria jeffreyi Berry, the former 
being new to science. Since the genus Dryopteris ranges from the Lower 
Cretaceous to the Recent and the Georgia species are not closely allied to 
any described form, it has no value in correlation. Of the other two forms, 
Cunninghamites elegans has a rather wide goegraphical range occurring both 
in this country and abroad. Its geological range is also considerable. In 
Europe it ranges from the Cenomanien to the Senonian inclusive, and in this 
country it has a parallel range from the Magothy flora of the east to the 
Montana flora of the west. It has been recorded from Lower Cretaceous 
horizons in Europe but the latter determinations are believed to be errone¬ 
ous. The nearest geographical occurrence to that in Georgia is that of the 
upper Black. Creek beds of North Carolina, hence the conclusion that the 
exposures near Byron are not older than those of the Magothy or the Black 
Creek beds appears to be firmly established. 

“The remaining species, Araucaria jeffreyi, is not a widespread form, but 
its intimate association, in the Eutaw formation at Chimney Bluff, Ga., and 
in the Black Creek formation of North Carolina, with Araucaria liladenensis, 
renders it extremely probably that the former represents the cone scales of a 
species of which the latter represents the foliage. Taken alone, Araucaria 
jeffreyi points to the same conclusions regarding the age of the deposits at 
Byron, as does the distribution of Araucaria bladenensis, but since the latter 
furnishes more definite data it will be briefly considered. 

“Araucaria bladenensis is one of the most abundant and typical forms 
of the Black Creek beds in North and South Carolina, ranging from their 
base to their summit. It has also been found in the Cusseta member near 



210 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Buena Vista, at the top of the Eutaw formation at Chimney Bluff, and at 
the top of the Tuscaloosa, or in the base of the Eutaw of Smith in western 
Alabama, while a closely allied form occurs in the Magothy of New Jersey.” 

The evidence afforded by the fossil plants is in harmony, there¬ 
fore, with that afforded by the fossil invertebrates so far as the correl¬ 
ation of the strata containing them with the Black Creek formation of 
the Carolinas is concerned. As regards the Hew Jersey Cretaceous, 
however, Berry apparently regards the beds as corresponding to a 
somewhat earlier horizon than that indicated by the invertebrates 
namely, to the M ago thy formation. However, in an unpublished 
manuscript on the Upper Cretaceous flora of South Carolina he ad¬ 
mits the possibility of the Magothv flora having persisted to a later 
time in the Carolinas and Georgia than in Hew Jersey. 


Exogyra costata zone .—In the Chattahoochee region the follow¬ 
ing species, 103 in number, have been identified from the Exogyra 
costata zone of the Ripley formation: 


Cassidulus porrectus Clark 
Cassidulus subconicus Clark 
Cassidulus conoideus Clark 
Cassidulus micrococcus Slocum 
Cassidulus subquadratus Conrad 
Hemiaster ungula (Morton) 
Hemiaster lacunosus Slocum 
? Coptostoma mortoni (de Loriol) 
Serpula cretacea (Conrad) 

Serpula barbata Morton 
Serpula sp. (nearly straight tube) 
(Tp.) 

Hamulus onyx Morton (Rp. Tp. 
Hamulus squamosus Gabb 
Nucula percrassa Conrad (Rp. Tp. 
Eb.) 

Nucula cuneifrons Conrad 
Nucula eufalensis Gabb (Tp.) 

Leda pinnaforma Gabb 
Leda longifrons Conrad (Tp.) 
Perrisonota protexta Conrad (Tp.) 
Cucullaea vulgaris Morton 
Cucullaea littlei Gabb 
Cucullaea antrosa Morton 
Breviarca cuneata Gabb 
Nemodon eufalensis Conrad 


Lima reticulata Forbes (Tp.) 

Lima acutilineata (Conrad) 

Lima pelagioa Morton 

Anornia argentaria Morton (Rp. Tp.) 

Anornia linifera Conrad 

Anornia sp. nov. (Pataula Creek, etc.) 

Paranomia scabra (Morton) 

Pulvinites argentea Conrad 
Crenella serica Conrad 
Dreissensia tippana Conrad 
Pholadomya occidentalis Morton 
Pholadomya sp. nov. (Pataula Creek, 
etc.) 

Anatimya anteradiata Conrad 
Cymella bella Conrad (Tp.) 

Liopistha protexta Conrad 
Cuspidaria ventricosa Meek & Hayden 
Veniella conradi (Morton) (Rp. Tp.) 
Etea carolinensis Conrad (Tp. Eb.) 
Vetericardia crenalirata (Conrad) 
(Tp.) 

Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 
Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb 
Scambula perplana Conrad 
Tenea ipinguis (Conrad) 

Sphaerella concentrica Conrad 


RIPLEY FORM ATI OX 


211 


Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Orbigny) 
Gervilliopsis ensiformis Conrad (Tp.] 
Ostrea subspatulata Forbes 
Ostrea plumosa Morton (Rp. Tp.) 
Ostrea tecticosta Gabb (Rp.) 

Ostrea larva Lamarck 
Ostrea peculiaris Conrad 
Gryphaea vesicularis Lamarck (Rp.) 
Exogyra costata Say 
Exogyra costata var. cancellata 
Stephenson 

Trigonia eufalensis Gabb (Tp.) 
Trigonia angulicostata Gabb 
Pecten quinquecostatus Sowerby 
(Tp.) 

Pecten argillensis Conrad 
Pecten Simplicius Conrad (Tp.) 
Pecten tenuitestus Gabb 
Pecten quinquenarius Conrad (Rp.) 
Panopea decisa Conrad 
Gastrochaena americana Gabb 
Dentalium ripleyanum Gabb (Tp.) 
Cadulus obnutus (Conrad) (Tp.) 
Scala sillimani (Morton) 

Lunatia obliquata Meek & Hayden 
(Tp.) 

Turritella vertebroides Morton 
Turritella trilira Conrad (Tp.) 
Turritella sp. nov. (two spiral 
ridges) 

Pterocerella tippana Conrad 
Pugnellus densatus Conrad 


Cardium eufaulense Conrad (Rp. Tp.) 
Cardium spillmani Conrad (Tp.) 
Cardium kummeli Weller 
Cardium tippanum Conrad 
Cardium alabamense Gabb (Tp.) 
Oyprimeria depressa Conrad 
Cyprimeria alta Conrad (Rp. Tp. Eb.) 
Cyprimeria densata (Conrad) (Rp.) 
Aphrodina tippana (Conrad) 

Aenona eufalensis Conrad 
Legumen planulatum ('Oonrad) (Rp. 
Tp.) 

Linearia metastriata Conrad iTp.) 
Leptosolen biplicata Conrad (Rp. Tp. 
Eb.) 

Cymbophora lintea (Conrad) (Rp. Tp. 
Eb.) 

Corbula crassiplica Gabb (Tp.) 
Strepsidura interrupta Conrad 
Rapana stantoni Weller 
Volutomorpha dumansensis Dali 
Morea cancellaria Conrad 
Pleurotoma ? melanopsis (Conrad) 
Pleurotoma ? laqueata (Conrad) 
Ringicula pulchella Shumard 
Cylichna recta Morton 
Nautilus dekayi Morton 
Sphenodiscus pleuriseptus (Conrad) 
Hamites sp. nov. (same as from 
Prairie Bluff, etc.) 

Turrilites alternatus Tuomey 


Of the 103 species listed, 14, marked (Rp), range down into that 
part of the Exogyra ponderosa zone forming the lower part of the 
Ripley formation; 30, marked (Tp), occur in the Tombigbee sand 
member of the Eutaw formation; five, marked (Eb), occur in the 
basal beds of the Eutaw formation, and 69 are restricted to the 
Exogyra costata zone. 

The ranges of the 69 restricted species elsewhere in the eastern 
Gulf region and in the Carolinas and Xew Jersey are given in the 
following table. 




212 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Table showing ranges of species outside the Chattahoochee region 
which in that region are restricted to the zone of Exogyra costata. 


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1. cassidulus porrectus Clark* . . . 
z. Cassidulus subconieus Clark* . . 

3. Cassidulus conideus Clark* .... 

4. Cassidulus micrococcus Slocum* . 

5. Cassidulus subquadratus Conrad . 

6. Hemiaster ungula (Morton)* . . 

7. Hemiaster lacunosus Slocum* . . 

8. ? Coptostoma mortoni (de Loriol)* 

9. Serpula cretacea (Conrad) . . . 

10. Serpula barbata Morton* . . . 

11. Hamulus squamosus Gabb . . . 

12. Nucula cuneifrons Conrad* . . 

13. Leda pinnaforma Gabb .... 

14. Cucullaea vulgaris Morton* . . 

15. Cucullaea littlei Gabb* .... 
lb. Cucullaea antrosa Morton . . . 

17. Breviarca. cuneata Gabb .... 

18. Nemodon eufalensis Conrad . . . 

19. Glycymeris subaustralis (d’Orbigny 

20. Ostrea subspatulata Forbes* . . . 

21. Ostrea larva Lamarck. 

22. Ostrea peeuliaris Conrad* . . . 

23. Exogyra costata Say*. 

24. Exogyra costata var. cancellata 

Stephenson*. 

25. Trigonia angulicostata Gabb* . 

26. Pecten argillensis Conrad . . . 

27. Pecten tenuitestus Gabb* . . . 

28. Lima acutilineata (Conrad)* . 

29. Lima pelagica Morton .... 

30. Anomia linifera Conrad .... 

31. Anomia sp. nov. (Pataula Creek, 

etc.)* . 

3z. Paranomia scabra (Morton) . . 

33. Pulvinites argentea Conrad* . 

34. Crenella serica Conrad .... 




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RIPLEY FORMATION 


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35. Dreissensia tippana Conrad* . 

36. Pholadomya occidentalis Morton 

37. Pholadomya sp. nov. (Pataula 

Creek, etc.)* . 

38. Anatimya anteradiata Conrad 

39. Liopistha protexta Conrad . 

40. Cuspidaria ventricosa Meek & Hayden 

41. Crassatellites pteropsis Conrad 

42. Crassatellites eufalensis Gabb* 

43. Scambula perplana Conrad . 

44. Tenea pinguis (Conrad) . . 

45. Sphaerella concentrica Conrad* 

46. Cardium kiimmeli Weller* . 

■± 1 . Cardium tippanum Conrad* . 

48. Cyprimeria alta Conrad . . . 

49. Aphrodina tippana (Conrad) 

50. Aenona eufalensis Conrad . . 

51/ Panopea decisa Conrad . . . 

52. Gastrochaena americana Gabb 

53. Scala sillimani (Morton) . . 

54. Turritella vertebroides Morton* 

55. Turritella sp. nov. (two spiral ridges*) 

56. Pterocerella tippana Conrad . 

57. Pugnellus densatus Conrad . , 

58. Strepsidura interrupta Conrad* 

59. Rapana stantoni Weller .... 

60. Volutomorpha dumasensis Dali* 

61. Morea cancellaria Conrad* . , 

62. Pleurotoma ? melanopsis (Conrad) . 

63. Pleurotoma ? laqueata (Conrad) * 

64. Ringicula pulchella Shumard* . . . 

65. Cvlichna recta Gabb. 

66. Nautilus dekayi Morton*. 

67. Sphenodiscus pleuriseptus (Conrad)* 

68. Hamites sp. nov. (same as from 

Prairie Bluff, etc.)*. 

69. Turrilites alternatus Tuomey * . . 




J Occur only in the Wenonah sand which forms the uppermost formation of the 
Matawan group. The form from the Wenonah sand referred to Ostrea subspatulata 
Forbes is probably incorrectly identified. 










































214 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

In the eastern Gulf region to the west of the Chattahoochee re¬ 
gion, three of the 69 restricted species occur in the Tombigbee sand 
member ( Mortoniceras sub-zone) of the Eutaw formation; 12 (one 
questionably) occur in that part of the Exogyra ponderosa zone 
which lies above the Mortoniceras sub-zone; and 58 occur in the zone 
of Exogyra costata. 

The Peedee sand ( Exogyra costata zone) of the Carolinas 
has furnished a small fauna as compared with that of the zone of 
Exogyra costata in the eastern Gulf region—the total number of 
species known being 28. Of the 69 species given in the above list 
18 occur in the Peedee sand, and nine occur in the underlying 
Black Creek formation. Of the 18 species common to the Exogyra 
costata zone of the two regions at least nine are characteristic species 
of that z’one. In New Jersey two of the 69 species occur in the 
Magothy formation; 22 (four questionably) in the Matawan 
group; 21 in the Monmouth formation, and two in the Rancocas 
formation. Of the 21 species common to the Monmouth formation 
at least seven are regarded as characteristic of the zone of Exogyra 
costata. The comparison with New Jersey is made on the basis of 
the distribution of species as given by Dr. Stuart Weller. The 
percentage of the 69 species common to the Matawan group 
which is below the zone of Exogyra costata is rather larger than 
would be expected. However, four of the species are reported only 
from the Wenonah sand, which forms the uppermost formation 
of the Matawan group, and it is probable that several of the 
species are incorrectly identified since obviously many of the speci¬ 
mens upon which the identifications are based are poorly preserved. 

Of the 69 species restricted to the zone of Exogyra costata in the 
Chattahoochee region, 38, marked in the table with asterisks, are not 
known to occur in beds lower than that zone anywhere in the eastern 
Gulf or Atlantic Coastal Plain. Of the 38 restricted species, 30 
occur in the zone of Exogyra costata to the west of the Chattahoochee 
region in Alabama or Mississippi; nine (one questionably) in the 
Peedee sand of the Carolinas, and seven in the Monmouth formation 
of New Jersey. 

Prom the distribution of species as given on preceding pages the 
following conclusions have been deduced: 

The Exogyra costata zone of the Chattahoochee region is the 
Chattahoochee representative of a paleontologic zone which in western 
Alabama and east-central Mississippi is represented by approxi¬ 
mately the upper one-half of the Selma chalk, and in northern 
Mississippi is represented by the Ripley formation and by a part 


iQeol. Survey of New Jersey. Vol. 4, Paleontologic series, text and plates, 1907. 



RIPLEY FORMATION 


215 


P 

of the underlying Selma chalk. In the Carolinas this zone is repre¬ 
sented by the Peedee sand, and in Hew Jersey by the Monmouth 
formation. A diagrammatic representation of these equivalencies 
is given in Plate V. 

The vertebrate remains thus far found in the zone of Exogyra 
costata in the Chattahoochee region include the following: 


Pisces: 

Corax falcatus Agassiz 
Lamna texana Roemer 
Otodus sp. ? 

Ischyrhiza mira Leidy 

Reptnia: 

Tooth of mososauroid reptile 

Dermal scutes, probably of the preceding form. 


Corax falcatus Agassiz, Lamna texana Roemer, and Iscliyrhiza 
mira Leidy are species of wide geographic and stratigraphic lange 
and are valueless in correlation. The ranges of the remaining forms 
are not known and consequently they throw no light on the age rela¬ 
tionships of the deposits. 

With the exception of occasional pieces of lignite, fossil plants 
have been found at but one place in the beds under consideration. 
A few imperfect leaf remains were collected near the base of the 
zone of Exogyra costata on Cowikee Creek, a few hundred yards 
above its junction with Chattahoochee River in Barbour County, 
x\la. E. W. Berry, who collected and studied these specimens, in a 
letter to the-writer says: 

“The fossil plants from Cowikee Creek are few in number and poorly 
preserved. The following forms are represented: 


Bauhinia sp. nov. 
Platanus sp. nov. 
Laurus sp. 


Salix sp. 

Sapindus sp. 

Fern, not determinable 


“The remains of the Bauhinia and Platinus are complete enough to dem¬ 
onstrate tha^they are new, the balance are too poor for accurate determina- 
rn aTthough they all appear to be distinct from any forms of the earlier 
Eastern Cretaceous floras.” 


The slio-ht evidence afforded by these plant remains seems to 
indicate that a change in the Cretaceous flora of the region took 
place approximately coincident with the inauguration of the fauna 
characterizing the zone of Exogyra costata. 


216 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY 


BY OTTO VEATCH AND LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON 


EOCENE 

MIDWAY FORMATION 
NAME 

n The Midway formation comprises the basal Eocene of the Georgia 
Coastal Plain. The term Midway was first used by Dr. E. A. Smith' 
wm k J°h nson to apply to a formation on the Alabama River in 
Wilcox County, Alabama. From this locality, it has been traced 
eastward to the Chattahoochee River, and the strata described by 
ml. Vr-, ngdon under the name Midway series (Clayton division), 
lhe Midway group of Alabama comprises the Clayton limestone, the 
Sucarnochee clay, and Naheola formation (“Matthews Landing”) • 
the two latter were not originally included in the Midway group. The 
upper part of the Midway group of Alabama is apparently missing on 
Chattahoochee River as the Wilcox formation there rests on the eroded 
upper surface of Midway strata. The term Midway has received gen¬ 
eral recognition as a. permanent stratigraphic name in the literature 
on the Coastal Plain geology of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 

Dr. J. W. Spencer* published some notes on the formation in 
Georgia and described sections along Flint River. Brief descrip¬ 
tions of a general nature have also been written by McCallie' and 
veatch.5 


DEFINITION 


Stratigraphic relations .—The Midway formation rests unconform- 
ably upon the Upper Cretaceous. Irregular contacts that appear to 
represent erosion unconformities between the two divisions were noted 
especially in the gullies north and west of Lumpkin, Stewart Countv’ 
The strata of the basal Midway and the Upper Cretaceous seem to be 
lithologically similar and on account of inadequate exposures con¬ 
siderable difficulty is experienced in determining the exact location 
And nature of the contact. 

A probable contact between the Cretaceous and the Eocene is ex¬ 
posed in the first railroad cut east of the depot at Lumpkin, where 


’Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. No. 43, 1887, p. 62. 

spln'i G |«L S ^ V 'r. Rep i °V th< l 9, eology of the Coastal Plain, 1894, pages 418 to 743 
^Geol. Surv. of Georgia. First Report of Progress. 1890-91 pp 43 49 • 

: 4 -S 5 • SUfTey 0f Ge0rgIa - Bul1 - No - 15 > Underground Water® Voeorgla, 1908, pp, 
5 Geological Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 18, Clay Deposits of Georgia, 1909, pp. 79-82. 



MIDWAY FORMATION 


217 


the base of the Eocene consists of four to six feet of iron stained clay 
containing ferruginous sandy layers bearing poorly preserved fossils, 
resting upon light colored sandy clay of probable Cretaceous age! 

ere is only slight evidence of an unconformity however. A prob- 
a ® uncom oimity was also noted about one and a half miles south 
of Lumpkin on the Cuthbert public road. Here a ferruginous sand 
is separated from a kaolinic sand by a line of pebbles and what seems 
to be certainly Eocene strata appears a short distance to the- south¬ 
ward. 


In Marion, Schley, and Macon counties the Midway formation lies 
in contact with the Upper Cretaceous which it closely resembles in 
lithologic character, but in mapping it is not possible to draw a sharp 
line between the two. It consists mainly of unconsolidated red, pur¬ 
plish and white sands in which thin, siliceous limonitic layers and 
crusts and highly ferruginous sandstone are common. Thin beds of 
impure clays also occur, but neither the clays nor the ferrugi¬ 
nous sandstone contain well preserved fossils. 

A probable contact between the Upper Cretaceous and the Midway 
formation occurs in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway, one mile 
east of Buena \ ista. The two divisions are separated bv thin li¬ 
monitic. layers imbedded in a stained clay. The lower part of the 
section is white or light colored sand and sandy clay, the upper part, 
probably representing the Eocene, is a bright red ferruginous sand. 

At Underwood Ferry, on Flint River, six miles southwest of Mar- 
shallville, Macon County, the base of the bluff consists of gray or yel¬ 
low rather compact argillaceous sand which contains poorly preserved 
fossils. From this locality a specimen of Yenericardia planicosta was 
obtained and on the basis of this fossil the strata are classed as Eo¬ 
cene. This is evidently near the northern margin of the Eocene, but 
the relations to the Cretaceous in this vicinity are obscure. It is also 
not positively known whether the Eocene represents the Midwav or 
Wilcox. 

A gray and black, laminated, sandy clay bearing Venericardia plan¬ 
icosta was also discovered at Barrow’s Mill in Houston County, five 
miles east of Marshallville. There is here a poorly exposed uncon¬ 
formity which may represent a Cretaceous-Eocene contact. Yener¬ 
icardia planicosta and Tnrritella liumerosa were obtained in a similar 
sandy clay on Robert Slappy’s land, four miles east of Marshallville, 
The fossils are inadequate for determining whether the exposure is 
Midway or Wilcox. 

Ho good physical evidence of an unconformity representing a con¬ 
siderable time interval between the Cretaceous and Midway has yet 


218 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


been discovered in Georgia, but there is paleontologic evidence that 
this interval is as great here as in adjoining states. 

The Midway is separated at Fort Gaines from the overlying Wilcox 
by a remarkable unconformity, which will be subsequently described. 
Superficial gray and brownish sand is spread over the formation in 
places and Pleistocene terrace deposits overlie it along Chattahoochee 
and Flint rivers. 

Lithologic chco'acters .-—The Midway is mainly a marine formation 
and consists of sands, clays, marls, and limestones. Much of the sand, 
however, has a fresh water aspect. The lower part of the formation 
consists principally of sands and clays and the upper part consists 
of marls, clays, and limestones, but there is such variety in the char¬ 
acter of the sediments that sharp lines of divisions based upon li¬ 
thology can not be drawn. Thin layers of flint interbedded with sands 
and clays were noted in the lower part. The sands are vari-colored, 
generally friable, and in several places contain lenticular, massive 
layers of white clay. In the lower part of the formation limonite is 
rather widely distributed in the sands in the form of thin crusts and 
as hollow concretions having black, polished, and botryoidal interiors. 
The limestones are fossiliferous, usually very hard and generally 
highly arenaceous, but in a few places sufficiently pure for use in the 
manufacture of lime. Friable marl, made up of glauconite, quartz 
sand, clay, and shells, occurs, and also laminated, black clay, and ful¬ 
lers earth. The limestones are conspicuous at several localities and 
are more abundantly fossiliferous than other parts of the formation. 
Individual beds of limestone in natural exposures are thin, from two 
or three to 25 feet in thickness, and are interbedded with clays, marls, 
and sands. Sands and clays make up by far the greater part of the 
deposits; the lithologic character and the character of the fossils indi¬ 
cate a very shallow wafer deposition for the whole formation. 

Thickness .—The thickness of the Midway (referred by Langdon 
to the Clayton division of the Midway group, as used in Alabama) 
on Chattahoochee River was estimated by Langdon 1 at 218 feet. The 
width of the outcrop on the Chattahoochee is about eight miles and it 
is believed that Langdon’s estimate is nearly correct, but it is prob¬ 
ably excessive rather than too small. The thickness of the whole Mid¬ 
way northeastward is probably greater, and while it can not be accu¬ 
rately estimated, is about' 300 to 400 feet. The width of the out¬ 
crop on Flint River is about 15 miles and it is not believed that an 
estimate of 400 feet is excessive. As recorded dips of strata are va¬ 
riable, individual beds not continuous, and only a few well data avail¬ 
able, no accurate estimate is possible. 


mangdon, D. W., Geology of the Coastal Plain : Geol. Survey Alabama, 1894, p. 369. 



MIDWAY FORMATION 


219 


Paleontologic characters. —The collections of fossils from the for¬ 
mation are on the whole rather meager. This is due to a paucity of 
fossils in the formation rather than to insufficient field work, since all 
of the best known exposures have been visited. Ostrea crenulimargi- 
nata seems to be a characteristic fossil and is found at nearly every 
limestone and marl outcrop. The basal part, which consists mainly 
of sands and clay, is very poor in fossils. Venericardia planicosta , 
Turritella, and other forms occur, but these are common to other Eo¬ 
cene formations. One of the characteristic fossils of the formation 
in Alabama, Enclimatoceras ulrichi, has not thus far been found in 
Georgia. The following is a complete list of the forms which have 
been identified. 


Fossils from the Midway Formation in Georgia. 


Turritella mortoni Conrad 
Turritella humerosa Conrad 
Mesalia alaJbamiensis (Whitfield) 
Area sp. 

Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb 
Ostrea pulaskensis Harris 
Lithodomus gainesensis Harris 


Crassatellites 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Venericardia smithii Aldrich 
Cardium sp. 

Protocardia sp. 

Cytherea ripleyana (Gabb) 


The determinations are by Dr. Vaughan from collections made by 
Veatch, McCallie, and Stephenson. 

A fossil turtle, Agomphus oxysternum, has been found in the Mid¬ 
way near Montezuma. The specimen was first described by Cope 1 
and later by Hay. 2 

Areal distribution. —The Midway occurs in a narrow belt, having 
a northeast southwest trend, extending from Fort Gaines on Chatta¬ 
hoochee River to Montezuma on Flint River and thence a short 
distance into Houston County. On the Chattahoochee it reaches a 
width of about eight miles and on the Flint a width of about 15 miles, 
while between the two rivers the belt has an average width of eight to 
ten miles. It is the surface formation over much of Clay, Quitman, 
Stewart, Randolph, Marion, Schley, Webster, and Macon counties. 
It extends eastward from Flint River into Houston County, piobably 
as far as Myrtle on the Perry branch of the Central of Georgia Rail¬ 
way. No occurrence is known east of the Ocmulgee River. In this 
area it is probably overlapped by higher Eocene formations. 


Physiographic expression,— The topography of the area underlain 
by the Midway is broken and hilly, somewhat similar to the Creta- 


1 Proc. Amer. 
may. O. P., 


Philos. Soc.. Vol. 17, 18 
Fossil Turtles of North 


77, p. 82. 
America : 


Carnegie Institution. 1908, p. 253. 



220 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


ceous area to the northward, and in contrast to the level topography 
oi' the areas to the southward underlain by Claiborne and Oligo- 
cene strata. A few lime-sinks occur in the vicinity of Fort Gaines 
and north of Cuthbert. 

Structure. —The formation presents no notable structural fea¬ 
tures. It has a low southward dip in conformity with the general 
southward inclination of all of the older Coastal Plain formations. 
No data for accurately determining the dip are at hand, on account 
of the discontinuity of exposures of individual beds. Recorded dips 
show wide variations due to local disturbances of the strata. 

The dip of the formation, as a whole, is roughly estimated at 20 
to 30 feet per mile. It is, however, unlikely that this rate of dip is 
maintained southward under cover of later formations, since Creta¬ 
ceous fossils, Anomia argentaria and Exogyra cos'tata, were found in 
the borings of an artesian well at Albany at 890 and 1,100 feet, re¬ 
spectively, and the base of the Midway according to these fossil deter¬ 
minations might be even above the 890-foot level (for a log of this 
well see page 317). Local crumpling of clay beds and local very 
high angles of dip were noted, especially in Stewart, Randolph, ami 
Quitman counties. These may be results of movements which pro¬ 
duced the Chattahoochee anticline. 

Economic geology. —Limestones and marls of the formation should 
be of some local value as fertilizers, lime, and road materials. There 
has been, however, but small utilization of these materials. Locali¬ 
ties where they are to be found are mentiond on succeeding pages. 
The formation contains beds of white fire-clay which may be of some 
future commercial value. Beds of considerable thickness and extent 
were found in Quitman, Stewart, Marion, and Macon counties. Li- 
monitic iron ore is widely distributed throughout the lower part of the 
formation, and at a few places is perhaps of sufficient extent to be of 
commercial value. 


LOCAL DETAILS 

Fort Gaines. —Limestone of the Midway formation is prominently 
exposed in the river bluff at Fort Gaines, and at the old Brown Mill 
on Comochechebbe Creek, one mile north of the town. Its first 
known appearance on the Chattahoochee is at a point seven miles 
above Fort Gaines, near Morris Landing, on the Alabama side of the 
river. At this locality Turritella mortoni is very abundant. There 
are also Venericardia planicosta and other fossils, poorly preserved 
and not positively identifiable. The material is a greenish, rather 

determinations made by L. W. Stephenson. 



MIDWAY FORMATION 


221 


calcareous sand. Five miles above Fort Gaines is an exposure of 
rock, massive-bedded, white, earthy, or chalky in appearance; in tex¬ 
ture it is both hard and compact and pulverulent or marly; it con¬ 
tains a high percentage of quartz sand and varies from sandy lime¬ 
stone to a calcareous sand. The limestone at Fort Gaines is poorly 
fossiliferous; Ostrea pulaskensis and Lithodomus gainesensis were 
collected; Bryozoa and small echinoids also occur in it. A maximum 
of 30 feet of the limestone is exposed in the river bluff at extreme low 
water. The limestone is best exposed on the Georgia side at the 
wagon bridge and at a point about 350 yards below the bridge, where 
a striking unconformity appears between it and the overlying strata. 
Circular pockets of black, sandy clay'occur in the limestone and are 
probably pot holes, 20 feet or more in depth, which were filled dur¬ 
ing the deposition of the strata overlying the limestone. 

The section exposed at Brown Mill, one mile north of Fort Gaines 
is as follows: 

Section at Brown Mill. 

Pleistocene. Feet. 

3. Red and yellow pebbly sand.5 

Eocene. 

Wilcox formation. 

2. Glauconitic sand and friable shell marl.6 

(Unconformity.) 

Midway formation. 

1. Soft, massive-bedded limestone.20 

The limestone here is soft, white, massive bedded and sandy, resem¬ 
bling that exposed in the river bluff. The exposures also reveal the 
same remarkable pot-hole unconformities which are present on the 
river. Fragments of Bryozoa, 0. pulaskensis, and a small echinoid 
were collected. The limestone appears in the banks of the creek to 
about one-half mile above the mill. The continuation of the limestone 
for at least a short distance northeastward is indicated by lime-sinks. 
However, the unbroken continuity of this limestone bed northeastward 
has not been demonstrated. The limestones at Greer Cave, Preston, 
Quebec, and Montezuma, which are supposed to be equivalent in age 
to the limestone at Fort Gaines are entirely unlike it in lithologic ap- 
.pearance, and evidence of a limestone bed connecting these localities, 
which would be afforded by outcrops and the character of the soil, is 
entirely wanting. 

Hatcher .—On the Griffith plantation, four miles south of Hatcher 
Station, there is an exposure of 20 feet of limestone and marl. This 
locality is the site of the old Redding mill and lime-kiln. The rock 
varies from marl through extremely hard, calcareous quartzite to com- 





222 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


paratively pure compact limestone; it resembles the limestone at 
Greer Cave and Preston, but differs somewhat in its lithologic ap¬ 
pearance from the limestone at Fort Gaines. The rock contains Os- 
trea crenulimarginata , a characteristic fossil of the Midway, and also 
a smaller species of oyster, probably 0. pulaskensis. The area of 
natural exposures is small and attempts to locate outcrops between 
this locality and Greer Cave in Randolph County were unsuccessful. 
The overlying stratum is red, argillaceous sand. 

The exposures in the Central of Georgia Railway cuts northwest 
of Hatcher, Quitman County, generally show variegated sand, coarse 
grained, often kaolinic and micaceous, resembling some of the beds 
of the Lower Cretaceous. The sands contain pockets of white and 
stained clays associated with limonitic crusts and hollow concretions. 
At mile-post 139, thin, limonitic crusts, from a few inches to a foot 
or two thick, contained casts of fossils, Dendrophyllia, Venericardia 
plamcosta, Venericardia smithii, Cytherea, which are Eocene fossils, 
and a specimen of the Cretaceous genus, Pugnellus. At this locality 
there is a mixture of Eocene and Cretaceous forms. It is probable 
that the crusts were originally glauconitic sand, since grains of glau¬ 
conite partially altered to limonite still remain. Also, near mile¬ 
post 135, there is an exposure showing 30 feet of yellow, brown, and 
umber colored, stiff clays, mixed w r ith harsh, gritty, or angular sand. 
The clay layers here are crumpled and disturbed from their original 
positions. The same general lithologic characters persist eastward to 
Flint River in the lower part of the formation. The strata exposed 
south of Lumpkin are mainly crossbedded quartz sands, containing 
thin white clay layers; brownish, glauconitic clays, fullers earth, and 
thin beds of flint v^ere also observed. 

Beds of flint w T hich are probably Midway, occur near the gin-house 
of W. W. Greene, one and one-half miles southwest of Georgetown! 
station. These rocks appear to have been derived by silicification 
from limestone similar to that at Fort Gaines. The rock lies in the 
escarpment of the second terrace bordering Chattahoochee River. 
Similar thin beds of flint have been observed near Beatrice, eight miles 
southwest of Lumpkin; on the Jones plantation, nine miles southeast 
of Lumpkin; five miles v 7 est of Richland; and at Bells Mill near 
Preston. 

Dr. Vaughan has supplied the following notes: 

“At several localities at which Mir. Yeatch made collections, fossils 
are so scarce and those obtained are so poorly preserved, that positive strati¬ 
graphic determinations are not possible. 

“Ostrea pulaskensis and the cast of the interior of an Area, probably 
the same as the unidentified specimen figured by Professor Harris in his 
monograph on the Midway, were obtained at the base of the bluff at Fort 
Gaines. This exposure is definitely known to be Midway. 


MIDWAY FORMA TIOX 


223 


“The imprint of an Area, probably belonging to the same species as the 
one from the Midway just referred to, and a Barbatia, referred by Professor 
Harris in his monograph on the “Lignitic” to B. cuculloides (Conrad), were 
found on W. W. Greene’s plantation, one and one-half miles southwest of 
Georgetown. A careful comparison with B. cuculloides from the Jackson and 
Vicksburg in the National Museum leads me to the opinion that Professor 
Harris has probably allowed too much latitude in variation. It can not be 
determined from the fossils whether the horizon is Midway or Wilcox. 

“An oyster, which appears to be 0. pulaskensis Harris, and specimens rep¬ 
resenting at least two species of echinoids, were obtained on the Jones plan¬ 
tation, nine miles southeast of Lumpkin. This exposure is probably Midway. 

“ Ostrea. probably pulaskensis. and two species of echinoids, one of which 
is either the £ame as, or very close to one of the species found on the Jones 
plantation, were collected at the 105th mile-post of the Seaboard Air Line 
Railway, five miles west of Richland. The geologic horizon of this exposure 
is probably Midway. 

“In the vicinity of Bells Mills, four and one-half miles northeast of Pres¬ 
ton, poorly preserved fossils were obtained at several localities. Among them 
are Cardium, Venericardia. Leda, probably pharcida Dali, and an oyster sug¬ 
gesting O. tliirsae. If the oyster is really 0. thirsae. it indicates that the 
Wilcox overlapped the eroded surface of the Midway. However, the informa¬ 
tion at present available does not warrant a positive opinion.” 

Greer Cave locality .—At Greer Cave, nine miles north of Cuthbert, 
on the upper Lumpkin road, there is an exposure of 30 feet of hard, 
gray, rather fine-grained, fossiliferous limestone. Most of the rock is 
comparatively pure, but near the base of the exposure it becomes very 
sandy and can be properly termed a calcareous quartzite. 

An exposure occurs in the public road one mile south of the above 
locality. The rock here is compact at the base, grading into a gray 
or light yellow friable shell marl, and gray calcareous .sand. A dark 
red, clayey sand overlies the marl and may be, in part, residual. The 
height of ‘the hill here is 70 feet, the lower 30 feet being marl and 
limestone. The formation at this locality contains characteristic Mid¬ 
way fossils, and is one of the most, notable lower Eocene exposures. 

Preston .—Midway limestone or marl appears at Lime Spring, on 
the Cole property, on the south side of Kincliafoonee Creek, two miles 
southeast of Preston. The rock is a hard grayish limestone or indu¬ 
rated, argillaceous marl, overlain by ferruginous sand. About 15 
feet is exposed in the hillside which forms the swamp bluff. 

The rock is fossiliferous, but. o- 0 od fossil specimens are rather diffi¬ 
cult to obtain. Dr. Vaughan has identified the following fossils from 
this locality: 

Fossils from Lime Spring. 

Turritella humerosa Conrad Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb 

Mesalia alabamiensis (Whitfield) Protocardia sp. 

Ostrea pulaskensis Harris? Crassatellites sp. 

At a point one mile south of Preston on the Weston road tlieie i> 
a thin bed of flint from which Dr. Vaughan has identified: Tur- 



224 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


ntella, Ostrea apparently thirsae (Gabb), and Venericardia. It is 
' y piobable that this bed lies beneath the marl on Kinchafoonee 
Creek and is hence Midway. 1 A marl, that occurs in the bed of the 
creek at the old Harrell distillery, about one mile farther south, is 
similai to that at Lime Spring and contains Ostrea crenulimargi- 
nata (?). 

At Bell s Mill, four and a half miles northeast of Preston, Hr. 
Vaughan has identified, Ostrea thirsae , Leda pharcida, Dentalium, 
Cardium > Lucina. The fossils were collected from thin flint beds. 
I he geographic position of the beds, (four or five miles north of the 
Midway at. Lime Spring on Kinchafonce Creek) their low topo- 
giaphic position, (lower than the higher ridges and hills of this vicin- 
ity, with no suggestion of an overlap), are considered evidence that 
the strata here may belong, to the Midway. 

Ellaville.— Hear the site of old Quebec, eight miles southwest of 
Ellaville, there is an exposure of 20 feet of highly siliceous limestone 
and clay with siliceous nodules, overlain by red, highlv ferruginous 
sand and sandstone. The rock here might be properly termed a calca¬ 
reous grit. Large angular, crystalline quartz grains are imbedded 
m a white, opaque and enamel-like calcareous matrix. The rock is 
very hard and compact and the quartz grains fracture rather than fall 
out when the rock is broken; the compactness is due in part to a ce¬ 
ment of amorphous or opaline silica. Oyster shells, Ostrea crenuli - 
marginata, were observed. The rock contains a small amount of 
phosphate in the form of brown grains or pellets. 

At Walls Crossing, four and one-half miles northwest of Ellaville, 
Midway fossils were collected froin a thin marl bed. The marl and 
bmestone bed which is about four- feet thick is exposed at the head of 
a small branch about 200 yards northwest of the cotton gin of Mr. C. 
II. Wall. Hr. Vaughan has identified the following fossils from this 
locality: 

Fossils from Walls Crossing. 

Turritella humerosa Conrad Venericardia smithii Aldrich 

Turritella alabamiensis Whitfield Cytherea ripleyana (Gabb) 

Ostrea crenulimarginata Gabb. 

Montezuma. Good exposures of the Midway formation appear in 
the bluffs of Flint River above and below Montezuma. The follow¬ 
ing section appears in the bluff at the wagon bridge one mile north- 
west of the town: 

1 See note by T. W. Vaughan, p. 222. 



MIDWAY FORMATION 


225 


Section one mile northwest of Montezuma. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). Feet. 

6. Red sand with a covering of brown, incoherent 
superficial sand. 

Age ? 

5. Laminated, drab clay . '.. 15 to 20 

Eocene. 

Midway formation. 

4. Compact limestone, variable thickness; contains 

large oysters. 2 

3. Clay, marl and limestone. 8 

2. Massive limestone layer, contains O. crenulimargi- 

nata, Cardium, Crassatellites . 5 

1. Bluish, massive bedded clay and coarse gritty ar¬ 
gillaceous sand. 15 


Northward from the bridge, FTo. 1 reaches a thickness of 25 feet; 
the lower end of the bluff is not well exposed and fragments of beds 
Xos. 2 and 3 have fallen to the base. The dip of the strata is south¬ 
ward, and bed hTo. 5 doubtless dips beneath the river between the 
upper wagon bridge and the Central of Georgia railroad bridge. 

At a locality two and a half miles north, and on the east side of the 
river, on the De Vaughn plantation, the following section occurs: 

Section on De Vaughn plantation. 

Feet. 

5. Red, argillaceous sand capping bluff. 

4. Clay with nodules of limestone, oyster shells abundant; 

the materials are weathered and not well exposed ... 8 


3. Compact, gray, sandy limestone, fossils .3 

2. Friable, calcareous, gray, clayey sand.10 

1. Sandy, glauconitic limestone.20 


Another section exposing limestone occurs at Dripping Bluff, nine 
miles south of Oglethorpe. TJie limestone is compact, bluish-gray, 
glauconitic and fossiliferous, containing the characteristic Midway 
oyster, 0. crenulimarginata and other fossils. Dripping Bluff is 
on the west side of Flint River and about half way between the 
mouths of Sweetwater and Camper creeks. 

Section at Dripping Bluff. 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

12. Reddish sand poorly exposed. 

Eocene. 

Midway formation. 

11. Poorly exposed and partly concealed, but probably 
calcareous clay, containing limestone nodules . 

10. Interbedded, very thin layers of hard, nodular 

limestone and clay. 

9. Clay. 

8. Limestone. 

7. Black clay marl. 


Feet. 
12 to 15 

Feet. In. 

10 

















226 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet. In. 


6. Nodular limestone and black argillaceous sand . 1 

5. Clay marl.\.. 2 

4. Limestone. 6 

3. Black, compact, argillaceous sand. 2V 2 

2. Hard, pitted, sandy and glauconitic limestone; 
contains fossils, principally large 0. crenuli- 

marginata . 5 

1. Black, argillaceous sand and sandy marl, not ex¬ 
posed except at low water. 3 


Bed No. 2 is apparently dipping southward at the rate of about 30 
feet per mile. 

The following is a section of a bluff one-fourth to one-half mile 
above Dripping Bluff. 

Section one-lialf mile above Dripping Bluff. 

Feet. 


4. Red and crossbedded, rather coarse sand with 
small quartz pebbles at the base. This material 
underlies a terrace plain 45 to 50 feet above 
the river, and is doubtless Pleistocene .... 12 

Midway formation 

3. White and red fine sand, containing clay laminae 7 

2. Black, massive, pyritiferous argillaceous sand, yel¬ 
lowish at the top, with thin limonitic crusts . . 10 

1. Massive bluish-white, jointed clay. 144- 


Bed No. 2 contains a few poor fossil prints. No marl or limestone 
appears; this indicates the variable nature of the Midway deposition. 
Furthermore, no limestone or even calcareous strata have been ob¬ 
served between this point and the bluff at Montezuma. A clay bed 
very similar to No. 1 of the preceding section occurs at Copperas 
Bluff, about three miles farther down-stream. 

Section at Copperas Bluff. 

Feet. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). 

3. Yellow &nd orange sand, variable thickness, maxi¬ 
mum . 20 

Eocene. 

Midway formation ? 

2. Black, pyritiferous, massive argillaceous sand, con¬ 
tains a few prints of fossils. 15 

1. Massive, jointed, bluish-white clay, maximum 

thickness. 15 


Beds 1 and 2 are almost identical lithologically wdth Nos. 1 and 2 
of the above section. 


WILCOX FORMATION 

NAME 

The Wilcox formation derives its name from Wilcox County, Ala¬ 
bama, where the formation is typically exposed. Strata of this for- 











WILCOX FORMATION 


227 


mation were formerly embraced in the “Lignitic Group.’ ? Dr. E. W 
Hilgard used the term “Lignitic’ 7 in Mississippi for all of the strata 
tyihg between the Claiborne and the Cretaceous, and included in it 
come beds belonging to the Claiborne group. Also in early literature 1 2 
the term was applied to all of the formations lying between the 
“Burhstone and the Cretaceous of Alabama. Subsequently, 3 how¬ 
ever, the calcareous beds at the base of the Tertiary in Alabama 
were differentiated and given the name Clayton (a division of the 
Midway). The term “Chickasaw” was later substituted for 
“Lignitic”, excluding the Elatwoods belt of Mississippi, by Dr. Hil¬ 
gard and Dr. Dali, and by a still later decision of the committee on 
nomenclature of the II. S. Geological Survey, 4 the name Wilcox was 
substituted for that portion of Hilgard’s “Lignitic”, which lies below 
the Claiborne group and above the Midway. 

D. W. Langdon studied strata of the Wilcox on the Chattahoochee 
Biver and made the following divisions: 


Lignitic: 


r Hatchetigbee 
J Bashi (Woods Bluff) 
q Tuscahoma (Bell’s Landing) 
Nanafalia 


These divisions can not be discriminated eastward from the Chat¬ 
tahoochee. 

In view of the small thickness of the Wilcox at Fort Gaines, and the 
probable occurrence of strata of the Claiborne group on Chattahoochee 
Biver near water-level four miles south of Fort Gaines (see following 
pages), it is not unlikely that a portion of the strata classed as “Lig¬ 
nitic” by Langdon, belongs to the Claiborne. 

DEriisriTioiv 

Stratigraphic relations .—In Georgia, the Wilcox formation in¬ 
cludes the strata lying between the Midway formation and the Clai¬ 
borne group. At Fort Gaines on Chattahoochee Biver, the Wilcox 
and the Midway are separated by a remarkable erosion unconformity, 
represented by holes in the white limestone of the Midway formation 
filled by black sandy clay of the overlying formation. These holes 
must originally have had a depth of 20 feet or more. Paleontologic 
and lithologic differences and the erosion unconformity furnish a suffi¬ 
cient basis for the separation of the Midway and Wilcox formations 

1 Hilgard. E. W., Geology and Agriculture of Mississippi, 1860, p. 108. 

2 Smith. E. A., and Johnson, L. C.. U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 43, p. 38. 

3 Geol. Surv. of Ala.. Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain, 1894, p. 147. 

4 Crider, A F., Geology and Mineral Resources of Mississippi, U. S. Ceol. Survey, 
Bull. 283, p. 25. 



228 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


at Fort Gaines. East of this locality, however, the paucity of the 
fossils, the fact that no unconformity could be discovered, and the un¬ 
satisfactory character of the evidence furnished by the lithologic 
composition of the strata, has rendered the discrimination of the two 
formations very difficult; therefore, the boundary line as mapped is 
necessarily tentative. 

The contact with the overlying Claiborne grotip, where this has been 
observed, is marked by an undulating line of small pebbles or a 
stratum of coarse sand, but there is no physical evidence of any con¬ 
siderable time interval having elapsed between the deposition of the 
two. An unconformity marking the contact between the Claiborne 
group and the Wilcox formation has been noted at the following 
localities: in the bluff at Fort Gaines, 50 to 55 feet above Chatta¬ 
hoochee River; in a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway two and 
one-half miles west of Cuthbert; at Hall’s Bridge on Kinchafoonee 
Creek seven miles southwest of Plains; doubtfully in the public road 
at Blacks Mills five miles north of Plains; and one and one-half 
miles southeast of Andersonville, on the south side of Sweetwater 
Creek, about one mile below Hodge’s Mill. Unfortunately, the strata 
are not fossiliferous, except at Fort Gaines, and the evidence that 
the unconformities are of stratigraphic importance is not entirely 
conclusive. 

Lithologic characters .—On Chattahoochee River, the formation is 
made up of sandy, glauconitic, shell marl, dark colored, laminated, 
often lignitic, sandy clay, in places consolidated into mudstone, and 
usually dark or gray glauconitic and lignitic sand. The laminated 
clay exposed in the bluff at Fort Gaines can be traced northeastward, 
having in Randolph County north and west of Cuthbert, the nature 
of fullers earth, which in places is glanconitic. At Greer Cave, 
there seems to be a considerable thickness of vari-colored and kaolinic 
sand between the Wilcox clay and the limestone of the Midway for¬ 
mation. Black and drab laminated, glauconitic clay and sand were 
observed on Bear Creek northeast of Weston, Webster County. Gray 
and black argillaceous and glauconitic sand appears at Magnolia 
Spring, two and one-half miles north of Plains; in the bed of a branch 
on the old Morgan plantation, six miles northeast of Plains; and at 
Hall’s Bridge on Kinchafoonee Creek, seven miles southwest of 
Plains. Farther eastward in Schley and Macon counties and in the 
vicinity of Andersonville, the strata which might be referred to this 
formation on the basis of geographic position, are mainly red and vari' 
colored sands with massive beds of white clay, very pure and in the 
nature of sedimentary kaolin, bearing little resemblance to the strata 
on Chattahoochee River. 


WILCOX FORMATION 


229 


Thickness. —It seems very probable that Langdon’s 1 estimate of 
402 feet is excessive, in view of the small thickness of Wilcox at 
Fort Gaines, and from the fact that Dr. Vaughan has determined Ex- 
ogyra costats, from the Blakely well at a depth of 500 to 510 feet. 
(See page 312). The thickness of strata between the McBean and 
the Midway formations at Fort Gaines does not exceed 75 feet. The 
maximum thickness at any place over the area of outcrop probably 
does not exceed 150 or 200 feet. It is difficult to form an accurate 
estimate of the thickness of the Wilcox formation as is true also of 
the underlying Midway formation, for east of Chattahoochee River, 
neither the base nor the top of the formation has been accurately es¬ 
tablished. There is a natural exposure of the formation revealing an 
estimated thickness of 100 feet of strata at Peterson Hill, four and 
a half miles northwest of Cuthbert. The foHowing is the record 2 of 
a well at Shellman, Randolph County: 

Record of well at Shellman. 


Feet. 

5. Red clay. 0 to 18 

4. Quicksand. 18 to 148 

3. Blue marl. 148 to 300 

2. Very hard limestone. 300 to 400 

1. Water bearing formation. 400 to 410 


Assuming the limestone layer Ho. 2 to be the same as the Midway 
limestone which is exposed at Greer Cave about 16 miles northwest, 
the overlying 152 feet of “blue marl” may belong to the Wilcox for¬ 
mation. 

There‘is no positive proof of strata of Wilcox age on Flint River. 
It may be entirely overlapped by the Claiborne, but assuming that 
the strata lying between the Midway formation at Dripping Blufi 
(see page 225) and the McBean or Vicksburg formations is Wilcox, 
the thickness is perhaps 100 feet. 

Paleontologic characters. —The formation is on the whole poorly 
fossiliferous. The following Georgia forms have been identified by 
Dr. Vaughan from collections made by the writer east of the Chatta¬ 
hoochee. River: 

List of fossils from the Wilcox formation in Georgia. 

Actaeon Ostrea thirsae (Gabb) 

Turritella mortoni Conrad Venericardia planicosta 

Turritella praecincta Conrad Cardium 

mangdon, D. W., Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain, Ala. Geol. Survey, 1894, 
P 2 McCallie, S. W., Underground Waters of Georgia, Bull. 15, 1908, p. 156. 








230 


OEOLOOY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Galyptrea aperta (Solander) Protocardia 

Dentalium Cytherea 

Leda pharcida Dali Cassidulus (?) sp. 

Glycymeris 


At a locality five and one-half miles south of Lumpkin the follow¬ 
ing fossils were obtained: 


Fossils from five and one-half miles south of Lumpkin. 


Endopachys maclurii (Lea ) 1 
Pyrula juvenis Whitfield ? 
Turritella sp. 

Leda (apparently pharcida Dali) 
Cytherea nutalliopsis Heilprin ? 


Nucula sp. 

Paracyathus ? sp. 

Cucullaea macrodonta Whitfield 
Lncina sp. 

Cytherea sp. 


Ihe species 0. thirsae , 0. compressirostra, Chlamys greggii, and 
Cucullaea macrodonta have been identified from beds near Fort 
Gaines. Dr. Vaughan has also identified a small oyster as 0. thir¬ 
sae, a species considered characteristic of the Wilcox formation, from 
beds four and one-half miles northeast of Preston, and a specimen 
apparently 0. thirsae from a flint bed one mile south of Preston. 
There, is however, a possibility of these beds belonging to the Midway. 
As the collections are small and the material in general poorly pre¬ 
served, often stratigraphic deductions from fossils can not be made 
with the same surety for Georgia as for states to the west where fossils 
are more abundant and better preserved. Further mention of the ma¬ 
terial near Preston and a note by Dr. Vaughan will be found on 
pages 222-223. 


Areal distribution. —The Wilcox formation extends in- a north 1 
eastward direction from the vicinity of Fort Gaines on Chattahoochee 
ltiver probably to Flint Piver in the northeastern part of Sumter 
County. The width of the belt of outcrop is on the average perhaps 
not more than five or six miles. It is, to some extent, overlapped and 
obscured by the McBean and Vicksburg formations. The formation 
has not been recognized east of Flint and Ocmulgee rivers. Prof. 
G. D. Harris referred strata at Roberts, nine miles east of Macon, to 
the horizon of the “Woods Bluff” (Bashi), formation of the Wilcox 
gioup, but it seems now more probable that they are Claiborne. (See 
page 279.) 

Physiographic expression, —The area underlain by the formation is 
small and it has produced no notable physiographic features. The 
topography of the area is rather broken and hilly similar to that of the 
Midway area to the north. 

J Note by Dr. Vaughan : “Endopachys maclurii suggests Claiborne ; while Cucullaea 
macrodonta is usually not later than Wilcox.” 



WILCOX FORMATION 


231 


Structure. —The strata dip southward or southeastward. Xo data 
are at hand for accurately estimating the rate of this dip. It is prob¬ 
ably less than 30 feet per mile. Xo evidence of local deformation was 
noted, although, doubtless, such may have taken place in the area ad¬ 
jacent to Chattahoochee River, as noted in the case of the Midway 
formation. 

Economic geology. —Friable, glauconitic shell marl occurs at the 
base of the Wilcox formation at Fort Gaines, and should be of local 
value as a fertilizer. This marl, in addition to calcium carbonate, 
carries small percentages of phosphoric acid and potash. Massive 
beds of white, fire-clay, which probably belong in this formation, oc¬ 
cur in the northern part of Randolph County and in Schley and Sum¬ 
ter counties and will probably be of some commercial value in the 
future. 


LOCAL DETAILS 

Fort Gaines .—The Chattahoochee River bluff at Fort Gaines, Clay 
County, affords exposures of great stratigraphic importance. ^ Sec¬ 
tions of the bluff have been published by Loughrulge,! Spencer, 2 Lang- 
don 8 and Veatch. 4 Sections made by different observers differ in de¬ 
tails, from the fact that the layers are of somewhat variable lithologic 
composition. 

The following is a section made by Dr. Stephenson: 


Section of bluff on Chattahoochee River at Fort Gaines, Ga. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit). 

12. Coarse, red, ferruginous sand, pebbly in lower naif 
11 Pebble and cobble layer, the pebbles and cobbles 
well rounded; also numerous fragments of 
greenish, gray, calcareous sandstone . : . . . 


Eocene. 

McBean formation. , . 

10 Greenish grav, laminated clay with fine sand part¬ 
ings, and occasional thin layers of glauconitic 

sand. 

9. Very glauconitic sand with irregular iron concre- 

8 Indurated* layer*of large oysters with sand matrix. 
Contains also large prints of Venericardia plant- 
costa and in loose glauconitic sand pockets 
along base small fragile pectens. (Fossils col¬ 
7. Light gray, calcareous sand with small scattered 
fragile shells. 


Feet. 

18 

2 


8 

10 


2 

10 


P .tS.ch, Otto, Cloy Depots <* Goorgio, Cool. Sorv. of Ga. Bolt 18, 1909, p. 80. 







232 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


6. Indurated layer of argillaceous, calcareous sand¬ 
stone with a few prints of fossils ........ 

Wilcox formation. 

5. Dark gray, calcareous rather coarse argillaceous 
sand, with scattered lime concretions. 

4. Dark gray, more or less sandy clay with pockets 
of sand . 

3. Dark gray shell marl with rather coarse sand 
matrix. Lime concretions irregularly distrib¬ 
uted through the marl, especially near the mid¬ 
dle of the bed. Contains numerous large pieces 
of lignite also near the middle of the bed. Shells 
most numerous 8 to 10 feet above base of sec¬ 
tion. (The horizon is the same as that from 
which a collection was made on the west side of 
river above the bridge at Fort Gaines) .... 

2. Light gray, mealy, very micaceous sand, streaked 
with iron stain. (This stratum and the preced¬ 
ing separated from the following by a marked 

unconformity). 

Midway formation. 

1. Rather soft, yellowish limestone (stage of water 
about eight feet above normal). 


2 

12 

13 


17 to 20 

0 to 4 

3 to 10 


From Layer Vo. 8, Dr. Vaughan identified 0. sellceformis, Pecten 
deshayesii, and 0. georgiana ?, and determined the horizon to be Clai¬ 
borne. 

A section and description which includes some details not given 
in the preceding sections was made by Veatch. The location is about 
one-fourth mile below the wagon bridge. 


Section of Bluff at Fort Gaines. 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

13. Coarse red sand with quartz pebbles in the lower 

half; caps the bluff. 

(Unconformity). 

Eocene 

McBean formation. 

12. Drab, fine-grained, laminated clay with sand part¬ 
ings . 

11. Yellow and grayish glauconitic sand. 

10. Clay and sand, in part calcareous. 

9. Indurated clay layer or drab claystone; contains 
fossils and is similar lithologically to the Clai¬ 
borne claystone east of the town of Fort 

Gaines. 

8. Grayish, argillaceous sand... * . 

7. Yellowish and gray quartz sand; contains calcare¬ 
ous sand nodules; small pebbles noted at the 
base; fossils Xenophora, Venericardia planicosta 
Wilcox formation. 

6. Gray and black laminated, sandy carbonaceous 
clay; part of the thickness is indurated and 
jointed . 


Feet. 


15 


8 

10 to 12 
20 


2 to 2V 2 
6 


2 to 2 y 2 


18 












WILCOX FORMATION 


233 


5. Calcareous, compact, argillaceous sand, contains 
fragile shells and is in the nature of a marl; 


Balanophyllia . 8 

4. Nodular calcareous layer. 2 


3. Ash-colored, lignitic sand, unconsolidated bed of 

small oyster shells, 0. thirsae, at the base ... 7 

2. Gray, mealy, lignitic sand, variable thickness, in 

erosion pockets in limestone. 4 

(Unconformity.) 

Midway formation. 

1. White to yellowish soft massive bedded limestone 
poorly fossiliferous, contains 0. pulasJcensis, 
maximum thickness exposed. 20 

At very low water stages, circular pockets of black, or gray lignitic, 
argillaceous sand can be seen in the limestone in the bed of the river 
beneath the wagon bridge. 

No. 13 of the section underlies the terrace plain upon which Fort 
Gaines is situated, and is a Pleistocene terrace deposit. 

In the west bank of the river at the wagon bridge, the white sandy 
limestone of the Midway formation is overlain by three to six or eight 
feet of friable, sandy, glauconitic marl, in which the shells of the 
small oyster, Ostrea thirsae, are very abundant. Above the marl there 
is a sandy clay which contains w T hite calcareous nodules. 

At the mill and cotton-gin on Commochechebbe Creek, one mile 
north of town, the Midway-Wilcox unconformity is again well ex¬ 
posed. A lignitic, argillaceous sand fills holes and cracks in the lime¬ 
stone, and the limestone is overlain unconformably by a glauconitic 
sandy marl which contains in abundance small oyster shells, 0. 
thirsae, small fish teeth and fragments of bones. 

At the mouth of Flat Creek, four and one-half miles south of Fort 
Gaines, a glauconitic, sandy argillaceous, shell marl was found in 
the bed of the creek a few’ yards above its junction with the river. 
The creek has cut a narrow trench in the first terrace bordering the 
river, forming bluffs about 30 feet high. Only two or three feet of 
marl is exposed above the water, and the upper part of the bluff is a 
dark, lignitiferous, argillaceous sand, and Pleistocene alluvium. 
From fossils collected here, Dr. Vaughan has identified: 

Cucullaea macrodonta Whitfield Pecten sp. 

Ostrea compressirostra Say. Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 

Chlamys greggii Harris 

The 0. sellaeformis suggests Claiborne strata at this point, while 
the other fossils are Wilcox in age. However, no other evidence of 
two Eocene horizons was observed in the field examination. The evi¬ 
dence of Claiborne age afforded by 0. sellaeformis is not entirely 






234 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


conclusive since this fossil has also been found in the Hatchetigbee 
formation of the Wilcox group in Alabama. 1 

The dark colored and drab, laminated sandy clays exposed in the 
bluff at Tort Gaines can be traced eastward and appear at a number 
of localities in Clay, Quitman, and Randolph counties. The clays be¬ 
come characteristically glauconitic in these counties, while appar¬ 
ently a considerable thickness of unconsolidated vari-colored, non-cal- 
careous and kaolinic sands lie between the clay and calcareous mem¬ 
ber of the lower Eocene. 

Cuthbert .—An excellent exposure* occurs in the public road at Pe¬ 
terson Hill, four and one-half miles northwest of Cuthbert. 

Vertical section in strata at Peterson Hill. 


Claiborne group ? Feet. 

8. Incoherent red sand, very fine. 15 

Wilcox formation. 

7. Orange-colored, fine-grained, clayey sand, residual 15 

6. Gray, silty, laminated clay. 

5. Gray, slate-colored and drab laminated clay, con¬ 
tains thin glauconitic layers.1 55 

4. Clay in the nature of fullers earth, slightly glau¬ 
conitic . J 

3. Glauconitic layer, a few fossils noted. 4% 

2. Coarse red and yellow quartz sand, contains a lens 

of white and yellow massive clay 8 feet thick . 25 

1. Rather coarse, current-bedded sand, probably glau¬ 
conitic near the top... 15 


What is probably an unconformity between the glauconitic clay 
and the red sand of the overlying Claiborne group appears in a cut 
of the Central of Georgia Railway near the 121 mile-post about three 
miles west of Cuthbert. The Wilcox strata here consist mainly of 
gray or drab laminated and jointed clay. 

The beds lying above the marl and limestone on the upper 
Lumpkin road to eight miles north of Cuthbert, as exposed in the cuts 
and gullies along this road, are mainly drab or gray, sandy, laminated 
clay in the nature of fullers earth. At a few places red, incoherent 
sand was noted and a bed of white, very pure clay occurs between the 
five and six-mile posts. The thickness of the strata is inferred from 
natural exposures to be 125 to 150 feet. Red sand, either Claiborne 
or Vicksburg, appears on the highest hills. 

Weston .—The following section appears in the Weston-Preston pub¬ 
lic road, one and one-half miles northeast of Weston, Webster County: 

Aldrich, T. H., Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain, Ala. Geol. Survey, 1894, 
p. 236. 










CLAIBORNE GROUP 


235 


Section one and one-half miles northeast of Weston. 

Fee 

4. Red sand containing flint fragments; the flint 
fragments contain characteristic Oligocene fos¬ 
sils * A A 


0 ^ slls .. 40 to 50 

3. Coarse, red sand. 10 to 15 

Wilcox formation? 

2. Drab, laminated clay, slightly glauconitic; some 

poorly preserved fossils. 20 

1. Black, sandy, glauconitic clay. 8 


Beds 1 and 2 appear to be similar to the clays near Fort Gaines and 
Cuthbert and probably represent the Wilcox formation. 

Plains. Gray, glauconitic sand appears at Magnolia Spring, two 
and one-balf miles north of Plains, Sumter County, which is also 
probably a part of the Wilcox, although no fossils were observed. 

Ellaville. —Fossils of the Wilcox formation were found south and 
southeast of Ellaville, Schley County. On the Lumpkin farm, on 
Goldendale Creek, six miles southeast of Ellaville, fossils were found 
in fragments of flint in a clay soil. The natural exposures are poor 
at this locality, and the field observations afford no evidence supple¬ 
menting that of the fossils. Dr. Vaughan identified the following 
fossils from this locality: 


Fossils from Lumpkin farm, Goldendale Creek. 

Cassidulus (?) sp. Leda pharcida Dali 

Actaeon Glycymeris 

Turritella mortoni Conrad Ostrea thirsae (Gale) 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) Cardium 

Dentalium Cardium 

Andersonville. —The weathered exposures at Andersonville, Sum¬ 

ter county, reveal deep red sands and the fresher exposures in gullies 
reveal white and red cross-bedded incoherent sands. A thick bed of 
white clay is reported in a well 90 feet deep, near the station. In a 
cut of the Central of Georgia Railway, two miles north of Anderson¬ 
ville, 35 feet of white and red, incoherent quartz sand which presents 
a most wonderful display of cross-bedding, is exposed. Thin beds 
of limonite or ferruginous sandstone in the loose sands were noted in 
this vicinity. A sandy clay containing scattered glauconite grains 
resembling the glauconitic clays of the Wilcox formation was found 
near Hodge’s Mill on Sweetwater Creek, one mile south of Ander¬ 
sonville. 


CLAIBORNE GROUP 

The Claiborne group, or Claiborne formation, where the strata rep¬ 
resenting the group are not subdivided into constituent formations* 
derives its name from the old town of Claiborne, on Alabama River, 






236 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


once a prosperous village but now represented by only a warehouse 
and boat-landing. The boat-landing is at the foot of the Claiborne 
Bluff, one of the classic localities of American geology. It was from 
a study of fossils collected here that Conrad 1 first recognized the pres¬ 
ence of strata of Eocene age in the United States. The Claiborne 
group is continuous from Alabama into Georgia, where it occupies the 
same stratigraphic position, above the Wilcox and beneath the Jack- 
son, and is characterized by the same species of fossils as in the former 
State. 

The Eocene age of the marl and limestone at Shell Bluff in Georgia, 
along with the strata of Claiborne Bluff of Alabama, was first recog¬ 
nized by Conrad. 1 In 1900, Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan 3 visited the 
Shell Bluff locality, and established the Claiborne age of the exposure 
below the Ostrea georgiana bed. In 1908, Prof. S. W. McCallie gave 
a brief description of the Claiborne and published an extensive list of 
Claiborne fossils, chiefly identified by Dr. Vaughan, obtained mainly 
from the region east of Ocmulgee River. 

D. W. Langdon first recognized the presence of Claiborne strata on 
Chattahoochee River, while beds of Claiborne age were first discrim¬ 
inated on the Elint by J. W. Spencer. 6 

The Claiborne group in Alabama is subdivided into three forma¬ 
tions, 7 viz.: 

Gosport greensand 
Lisbon formation 
Tallahatta buhrstone 


Although in a general way the correlatives of these formations may 
be recognized in Georgia, the extension of the use of these terms to 
this State is inappropriate, since the Claiborne group is not naturally 
divisible into the same units as in Alabama; therefore, in Georgia 
the group is divided into two formations, with the recognition of a 
member in one of the formations, viz.: 


Barnwell sand 

McBean formation, with the Congaree clay member. 


x Proc. Acad .Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1834, Vol. 7, pp. 116-157. 

2 Amer. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., Vol. 41, 1866, p. 96. 

^Science, n. s., Vol. 13, Feb. 15, 1901, p. 270. 

4 Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia, No. 15, 1908, pp. 33, 34, 336-348. 

B Bull. Geol. Soc. America, Vol. 2. 1891, pp. 597 598 

®Rept. of Progress, Geol. Survey of Georgia, 1890-1891, p. 51. .. . 

’Smith, E. A., Underground water resources of Alabama : Geol. Survey of Alabama, 
1907, pp.’ 17, 18. 



McLEAN FORMATION 


237 


Sloan has proposed a number of phase names for the various as¬ 
pects of the Claiborne group as it is exhibited in South Carolina, and 
in two instances the usage of names for subdivisions of the Claiborne 
group is extended from there into Georgia. 

McBEAN FORMATION 
NAME 

The name McBean is derived from the town of McBean in Rich¬ 
mond County, Ga., and from McBean Creek which forms the bound¬ 
ary between Richmond and Burke counties. The formation to which 
the name is here applied is well exposed near the town of McBean and 
southward along McBean Creek to its confluence with Savannah 
River. According to Dr. Vaughan the formation is equal to the 
Tallahatta buhrstone plus the Lisbon formation of Alabama, and the 
top of it may include the base of the Gosport greensand of the Ala¬ 
bama section. 

DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic relations .—The McBean formation rests imconform- 
ably upon strata of Lower Cretaceous age east of Ocmulgee River. 
This unconformity represents a long interval of time, for the two 
lower Eocene formations, the Wilcox and Midway, and all of the Up¬ 
per Cretaceous deposits, aggregating a thickness of 3,000 feet or 
more, are absent in this region. Tongues of McBean strata also lap 
over the Cretaceous and even extend to the crystalline rocks of the 
Piedmont Plain. The most notable of these overlaps are at Roberts, 
Harlem, and Grovetown. 

Between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers the McBean formation 
rests upon the Wilcox formation. Along Chattahoochee River, in the 
vicinity of Fort Gaines, there is evidence of an erosion unconformity, 
probably of minor importance, separating the two formations. 

The formation in eastern Georgia is overlain by the Barnwell sand 
which in this region constitutes the upper formation of the Claiborne 
group. The relations between the two divisions are somewhat ob¬ 
scure. Along the northern margin of the areal occurrence of the 
Barnwell sand there is evidence of an unconformity of slight time im¬ 
portance separating it from the McBean formation, but farther south¬ 
ward the former seems to rest upon the latter with conformable rela¬ 
tions. It seems probable that near the close of the time of deposition 
of the McBean formation there was an uplift which brought the north¬ 
ern margin of the area of Claiborne deposition above sea-level, permit¬ 
ting erosion to take place in the emerged area, while deposition con¬ 
tinued in the area which remained under water. The uplift was of 

^Catalogue of mineral localities of South Carolina : Geol. Survey of South Carolina. 
1908. 



238 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


short duration, however, the emerged tract being soon submerged 
again allowing deposition to continue as before over the whole belt. 

The Barnwell sand may be, in fact probably is, present west of 
Flint River, but as there is some doubt as to its identification in this 
area there is lack of definiteness regarding the stratigraphic relations 
between the McBean and the overlying formations. 

Lithologic characters .—The formation consists mainly of clays in 
the nature of fullers earth, shell marls, sandy limestones, and calca¬ 
reous, glauconitic sands. The marls are for the most part massive- 
bedded and friable, but hard, compact, and even partially silicified 
beds were noted on Savannah River. They may also be represented 
by alternate layers of marl or calcareous sand and laminated clay. 
The greatest thickness of the marl beds is in the Savannah River 
bluffs where, at Shell Bluff, there is an exposed thickness of over 100 
feet. 

The marls of the McBean formation reach their greatest develop¬ 
ment on Savannah River; they extend southward from Shell Bluff 
about 11 miles in a direct line to a point one and one-half miles below T 
Griffins Landing, where they appear in the bluff 50 feet above the 
water level. Westward from Savannah River, marls are exposed 
near McBean, Louisville, Tennille, Sandersville, and at other 
localities. 

The Flint River exposures are friable, calcareous sands, sandy 
limestones, marls, and saudstones. On Chattahoochee River, Lang- 
don recognized a lower “Buhrstone” member and an upper calcareous 
member. The formation here presents a variety of lithological phases 
as elsewhere—gray, glauconitic limestones and marls resembling those 
on Savannah River; calcareous clays and claystones, and red and 
vari-colored unconsolidated sands. 

Exposures of the formation are of small areal extent, and the marls 
and other materials have had but little effect upon the soils of the re¬ 
gion underlain by them. 

The marls are usually replete with fossils, the casts and shells of 
mollusca being the most common. Vertebrate remains, fish teeth, 
fragments of bones, etc., Bryozoa, and corals have been collected. 

A portion of the McBean formation consists principally of fullers 
earth, and drab or greenish sandy clays. This is a depositional phase 
of the terrane. It is best exposed along the northern margin of the 
formation, extending approximately from Grovetown, Columbia 
County, to near Macon. This phase will be described on following 
pages as the Congaree clay member of the McBean formation. 

The McBean formation as a whole presents a marine aspect, and 
was doubtless deposited near shore and in shallow water. 


McBEAN FORMATION 


239 


Thickness— The thickness of the McBean formation east of Oc- 
muigee River is estimated at 300 to 400 feet. The maximum exposed 
thickness occurs at Shell Bluff, Savannah River, where 115 feet of 
strata were measured. The thickness of the Claiborne group near 
ouisville, Jefferson County, estimated from the record of an oil-pros¬ 
pecting well, is 350 feet the greater part of which is referable to this 
iormation, although the upper 68 feet mav belong to the Barnwell 
sand. The lithologic character of well drillings from Waynesboro in¬ 
dicate that the maximum thickness of the Claiborne group is not over 
500 feet, perhaps less, at this place; all except about 100 feet of this 
ls J e “le to the McBean formation. In parts of the area over 
which the McBean is the surface formation, the thickness will vary 
rom not. over .50 to 150 feet. The thickness along Ocmulgee and 
Oconee, rivers is certainly much less than that along the Savannah, 
that there was probably a basin in the Savannah area 
during the Claiborne epoch. 

Between Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee rivers where the Barnwell 
sand has not been certainly identified the thickness of the Claiborne 
group seems to be in general less than in Burke County. 

On Chattahoochee River, the estimated thickness of the Claiborne 
group is 250 to 300 feet. On the Flint, judging from the width 
of the outcrop, the thickness does not exceed that on the Chattahoochee 
and is probably less. The thickness between these two rivers, as 
shown by natural exposures, is not greater than 150 or 200 feet 
Southward, under cover of the younger formations, the Claiborne 
group may diminish in thickness since the combined thickness of the 
Eocene is not more than 700 or 800 feet as shown by the record of an 
artesian well at Albany. (See page 317.) 

Paleontologic characters .—The most extensive collection from anv 
single locality in the area underlain by this formation was made by 
Mr. Earle Sloan, at Sloan’s Scarp on McBean Creek, between Mc¬ 
Bean Station and Savannah River. Mr. Sloan submitted his fossils 
to Dr. Vaughan who contributes the following list and notes. 


, List of fossils from Sloan’s Scarp, McBean Creek. Collected by 

Earle Sloan. 


Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 
Ringicula biplicata (Lea) 

Conus sauridens Conrad 
Pleurotoma kelloggi Gabb 
Pleurotoma texacona Harris 
Pleurotoma terebriformis Meyer 
Pleurotoma childreni Lea 
Pleurotoma lesueuri Lea 
Pleurotoma nodocarinata Gabb 


Turritella arenicola Conrad 
Turritella carinata Lea 
Mesalia claibornensis (Conrad) 
Tuba antiquata Conrad 
Amalthea pygmaea (Lea) 
Calyptrea aperta (Sol.) 
Crepidula lirata Conrad 
Lunatia eminula (Conrad) 
Natica semilunata Lea 


240 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


Pleurotoma aff. rugosa Lea 
Amblyacrum stantoni Vaughan 
Amblyacrum huppertzi var. penrosei 
Harris ? 

Mangelia infans Meyer 
Marginella columba Lea 
Marginella semen Lea 
Caricella demissa var. texana Gabb 
Caricella aff. pyruloides (Conrad) 
Clavelithes humerosus Conrad 
Fusus bellus Conrad 
Fusus mortoni Lea 
Lirofusus thoracicus (Conrad) 
Typhis gracilis Conrad 
Pyrula (Fusoficula) texana Harris 
Leiorhynus prorutus Conrad 
Laevibuccinum prorsum Conrad 
Mitrella mississippiensis Meyer & 
Aldrich 

Phos sagenum (Conrad) 

Buccinanops altile (Conrad) 
Pseudoliva vetusta (Conrad) 

Lacinia alveata Conrad 
Turritella nasuta Gabb 
Turritella nasuta var. houstonia 
Harris 


Sigaretus declivis Conrad 
Solarium elaboratum Conrad (young) 
Solariorbis depressa (Lea) var. 
Dentalium annulatum Meyer 
Nucula ovula Lea 
Nucula magnifica Conrad 
Leda media Lea 
Yoldia psammotaea Dali 
Area rhomboidella Lea 
Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 
Pecten wahtubbeanus Dali 
Crassatellites protextus (Conrad) 
Venericardla sp. (also at Lisbon, Ala.) 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 
Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Phacoides papyraceus (Lea) 

Bornia prima (Aid.) 

Cytherea discoldalis Conrad 
Metis raveneli (Conrad) 

Tellina mooreana Gabb 
Pteropsis lapidosa Conrad 
Corbula alabamiensis Lea 
Corbula densata Conrad 
Corbula fossata var. extenuata Dali 


“Mr. Sloan also obtained a number of species that I was not able specific¬ 
ally to identify; some of these are new, while others have probably been de¬ 
scribed, but the groups to which they belong have not been thoroughly studied. 
This is a most interesting collection as it furnishes an excellent basis for 
correlation with other South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain States. Deposits 
of the same age occur at Keitt’s Ravine and Lang Syne in South Carolina, 
where Sloan calls them Warley Hill marl; at Pooser’s Hill and Caw-caw 
Swamp, where they are called Cawcaw shale and marl by Sloan;, at De- 
cariduc place, near Aiken, and at Hixon bridge, Tinkers Creek, Aiken County. 
At the last named locality Sloan calls the horizon Barnwell phase. The 
horizon in Alabama and Mississippi is represented by the Lisbon formation; 
in Louisiana by the upper portion of the St. Maurice formation; and in 
Texas by the Cook Mountain formation. 

“In Georgia the McBean formation includes two paleontologic horizons. 
The lower one has been discussed ip the preceding remarks. It is especially 
characterized by Pleurotoma nodocarinata Gabb, Turritella nasuta Gabb, 
Turritella nasuta var. houstonia Harris, Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad, Pteropsis 
lapidosa Conrad, and Corbula fossata Meyer and Aldrich. 

“A higher horizon is represented especially well along Savannah River, 
between Shell Bluff, upstream, and Griffin’s Landing, downstream. Along this 
stretch of the river a prominent ledge, largely composed of Ostrea georgiana 
Conrad, forms the top of the McBean formation. Although this formation 
could be subdivided along Savannah River it was found impracticable to ex¬ 
tend the subdivision westward, for which reason the Ostrea georgiana bed is 
considered as constituting its upper portion. 

“Mr. E. W. Berry has studied the fossil plants of the Congaree clay mem¬ 
ber and his results are ready for publication as a Professional Paper of the 
U. S. Geological Survey.” 


Areal distribution .—Outcrops of the McBean formation occur in 
an extremely irregular belt, varying from a few miles to 25 miles or 
more in width, and extending entirely across the State. In the re- 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XIX. 



A. OSTREA GEORGIAN A BED AT SHELL BLUFF,. SAVANNAH RIVER, BURKE 

COUNTY. 



B. 


1/AYER OF PISOLITIC CLAY BOWLDERS NEAR THE BASE OF THE CLAI¬ 
BORNE GROUP IN A PIT OF THE AMERICAN CLAY COMPANY, 
ELEVEN MILE POST. TWIGGS COUNTY. 








































































































































McBEAN FORMATION 


241 


Savannah and Ocmulgee rivers this belt lies to the south 
o± the belt m which the Lower Cretaceous strata come to the surface, 
and between Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee rivers it lies to the south 
ot the area m which the Midway and Wilcox formations outcrop. 

On account of the difficulty in distinguishing between the weath- 
m*ed phases of this formation and the overlying Barnwell sand, the 
Claiborne group has been given one color on the geological map, no 
attempt being made to map the two formations separately. East of 
Flint River, exposures have been studied in the following counties: 
Columbia, Richmond, Burke, McDuffie, Jefferson, Glascock, Wash¬ 
ington, Baldwin, Wilkinson, Jones, Twiggs, Bibb, and Houston. Ex¬ 
posures also occur on Flint and Chattahoochee rivers. It is evident 
that east of Ocmulgee River the formation originally entirely con¬ 
cealed the Lower Cretaceous and lapped over to the crystalline rocks 
of the Piedmont Plain, but it has been extensively modified by erosion 
and the northern limit of outcrop, as marked on the map, is a jagged 
line, since streams have cut through it and exposed the underlying 
Cretaceous. 

Physiographic expression, —Over practically the whole of the area 
of its occurrence east of Ocmulgee River the formation is overlain by 
the Barnwell sand, the beds appearing at the surface only in the 
stream bluffs and on the lower slopes and in the bottoms of the valleys. 
On account of the compactness of the materials composing it, the for¬ 
mation has been effective in places in preventing the rapid reduction 
of the valley sides from steep to gentle slopes, but otherwise it has had 
only a subordinate part in determining the topographic aspect of the 
region that it underlies. 

Structure .—The McBean formation shows a low dip southward. 
The dip of individual beds is so slight that they appear horizontal in 
natural exposures. The slope southward for the formation as a whole 
is perhaps not more than 10 or 15 feet per mile. Ho pronounced fold¬ 
ing or faulting of beds has been observed. Langdon 1 noted low flex¬ 
ures along Chattahoochee River; only purely local disturbances such 
as might be due to land slips or weathering and solution of calcareous 
strata, W’ere noted in the Oomulgee-Savannah area. The thick clay 
and fullers earth beds show minute jointing. Clay laminae show 
slight crumpling at a few localities but this is of doubtful regional 
significance. An exposure of the McBean occurs four and one-half 
miles south of Perry, Houston County, at an elevation higher than 
Jackson outcrops lying to the north. The structural relations are un¬ 
explained. It is probable there has been folding or faulting. 


mangdon, D. W., Report on the Coastal Plain; Geol. Survey of Alabama, 1849. p.'389. 



242 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


LOCAL DETAILS 

MCBEAN CREEK AREA, RICHMOND AND BURKE COUNTIES 

McBean and vicinity .—McKean, Richmond County, is situated on 
the Central of Georgia Railway, 22 miles south of Augusta. The ex¬ 
posures of the McBean formation are principally on the south or 
Burke County side of McBean Creek. The following notes are by 
Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan: 

Section in gully on south side of McBean Creek, one-quarter of a mile 

south of McBean Station. 

Barnwell sand. * Feet. In. 

5. Silicified coquina rock imbedded in sand .... 

4. Yellow and white sands, portions very fine, 

others coarse. 32 6 

McBean formation. 

3. Drab clay forming an indurated stratum, some 

lignitic matter . 1 ® 

2. Greenish-yellow, rather fine-grained, argillaceous 

sands, with black specks and lignitic pockets. 

These sands becoming variably yellow and red 6 

1. Light greenish-yellow, non-laminated clay, with a 

little calcium carbonate. 2 6 

Gully 300 or JfOO feet east of the preceding . Southern end of gully. 
Barnwell sand. 

5. Red, sandy clay. 2 

McBean formation. 

4. Thin seam of lignite. - £ 

3. Greenish clays, containing lignite.• ■ 5 6 

2. Marl with calcareous concretions. 6 

Feet In. 

1. Greenish-yellow, calcareous clay. 1 

Western side of gully. 

Barnwell sand. 

5. Red sands. 3 9 

McBean formation. 

4. Greenish clay similar to No. 2. 0 7 

3. Thin seam of lignite following irregular contour ] 

of upper surface of No. 1 (corresponds to No. j 
4 of preceding section) and j- 2 

2. Greenish clay. J 

1. Greenish-yellow calcareous marl. 2 

Eastern side of gully. 

Barnwell sand. 

3. Reddish sands. 

McBean formation. 

2. Greenish-yellow lignitic clay. 

1. Calcareous marl with 0. sellaeformis . 

Westerly exposure at McBean Creek, three-tenths of a mile 

west of Bates Miller's store. 

Barnwell sand. 

2. Yellow, gray, and red sands. 32 G 

McBean formation. 

1. Soft, chalky limestone, indurated in places, con¬ 
taining Turritella carinata, Nucula ovula, 

Corbula giMwsa, Pteropsis lapidosa . 12 


















McBEAN FORMATION 


243 


\ 


Along the r0 ad to Thos. B. Cox’s house deep red, compact sands, and de¬ 
composed glauconite with pebbles near base, are seen overlying the material 
composing the preceding sections. Large masses of silicified coquina and 
chalcedony (buhr-rock) with numerous poorly preserved fossils, Mortonia, 
TurriteUa obruta Corbula alabamiensis, etc., Claiborne fossils, occur from 
eight feet of the base to the hill summit. The observed thickness along this 
road was 52 feet. 


Section on Thos. B. Cox's land, six miles southeast of McBean 
station, from his residence fo creek, one-lialf mile to the northeast. 
Barnwell sand. Feet 

4. Red sand with “buhr-rock”. 105 

McBean formation. 

3. Blue-green gray shale, nonfossiliferous. 20 

2. Glauconitic, friable, or indurated limestone 

(chalky) with Claiborne fossils. 4 

1. Blue clay with rotten calcareous fossils (Clai¬ 
borne) Corbula alabamiensis . 1 

SAVANNAH RIVER, BURKE COUNTY 

Shell Bluff. Shell Bluff is a classic locality and stratigraphically 
one of the most important exposures in the Georgia Coastal Plain. 
The bluff is located in Burke County, on Savannah River, 40 miles 
by river below Augusta, and 15% miles by the public wagon road, 
northeast of Waynesboro. * 

The bluff has been referred to in geologic literature more often than 
any other Georgia locality. Probably the first reference was made 
by William Bartram, 1 the English traveller, in 1791. Prof. John 
Finch 2 probably had this locality in mind in a paper published in 
1824, though it is not mentioned specifically. Vanuxem 3 furnished the 
first geologic description of any consequence, for a paper read by S. , 
G. Morton in 1828, and regarded the strata as upper Tertiary. The 
fauna of the bluff was studied by Conrad, 4 1834, who was the first to 
classify the beds as Eocene. He gave the name Ostrea georgiana to 
the common oyster, although this fossil was apparently known to Van¬ 
uxem 5 before this date and was named by him Ostrea gigantea. This 
locality was visited by Sir Charles Lyell in 1842, and is described in 
“Travels in Horth America,” published in 1845. Lyell 0 collected 40 
specimens and determined the rock to be Eocene. 

The stratigraphic position of the beds was a subject of discussion in 
1866, when Conrad 7 proposed the name “Shell Bluff Group” for 
strata characterized by Ostrea georgiana, and which he placed below 
the “Orbitolite limestone of the Jackson group.” Hilgard, 8 however, 


VTravels through North Carolina, South Carolina. Georgia and West Florida, etc.. 
Philadelphia. 1791. 

2 Amer. tTour. Sci., Vol. 7. 1824, pp. 31-43. 

3 Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. 6, pp. 59-71. 

4 Idem. Vol. 7, 1834, pp. 156-157. 

“Ibid, Vol. 6. 1830. 

6 Travels in North America, Vol. 1. p. 158. John Murray, 1815. 

7 Amer. Jour. Sci. 2d ser.. Vol. 41. 1866, p. 96. 

8 Ibid. Vol. 42, 1866. pp. 68-70. 






244 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


placed the “Shell Bluff group” above the Jackson, and disputed the 
occurrence of Orbitoides below the Vicksburg. Dr. W. H. Dali, in 
1895, placed the “Shell Bluff group” under the lower Oligocene or 
Vickshurgian, but stated that its position was not definitely settled. 
Dr. Vaughan 2 made paleontologic studies later and concluded that the 
marl below the Ostrea georgiana bed belonged in the lower portion 
of the Claiborne group of the Eocene. 

Recent studies of the strata by the writers in the vicinity of Shell 
Bluff post-office, Burke County, and Hancock Landing, Savannah 
River, have established the fact that the Ostrea georgiana bed, 75 to 
110 feet above Savannah River, and the overlying red sands should 
also he referred to the Claiborne group. 

Sections and descriptions of the'bluff have been published by Ruf¬ 
fin, 3 Loughridge, 4 W. B. Clark, 5 and Earle Sloan. Sections made 
by different observers vary greatly in detail,—the variations are per¬ 
haps due in the main to the imperfection of the exposures and to the 
fact that the sections were made at different points along the bluff; 
also, to differences in the usage of descriptive terms, completeness or 
incompleteness of the sections, and to the object in view, whether 
stratigraphic or economic. 

The length of the bluff against which the river impinges is about 
1,000 feet and it attains a maximum height of 150 feet. According 
to the reports of the TJ. S. Army Engineers the river level here is 87.1 
feet above sea-level. 

Dr. Vaughan has made careful stratigraphic studies here and has 
supplied the following section and notes: 

Section of Shell Bluff, mouth of Boggy Gut Creek, on Savannah 

River. 

Feet. 

15. Soil and humus. 

McBean formation. 

14. Indurated fossiliferous limestone. 

13. Softer limestone with some sand, (in the upper¬ 
most part of this a specimen of Pteropsis 

lapidosa was collected). 

12. Ledge of hard limestone. 

11. Softer sandy stratum. 

10. Harder stratum. 

9. Softer stratum. 

8. Whitish limestone, blotched yellow or brown, 
with Claiborne fossils. 


1 


6.5 

3.4 

3.7 

1 

1.1 

4.25 


*U. S. Geol. Surv., 18th Ann. Kept., pt. II, p. 342. 

2 Sci., D. s., Vol. 13, p. 270, 1901. . , , „ 

3 Report of Commencement and Progress of the Agricultural Survey of South Carolina. 
“Tenth Census, Vol. 6. pt. 2, p. 280 (bottom pagination). 

“Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 83, p. 55. 

“Catalogue of mineral localities: Geol. Survey of South Carolina, p. 271. 










McBEAN FORMATION 


245 


Feet. 


7. Yellow sand, more calcareous at top, containing 

Ostrea sellaeformis . 13 

6. Softer ledge. 7 

5. Harder limestone ledge. 4.5 

4. Softer ledge . .5 

3. Harder ledge. 2.3 

2. Soft limestone, whitish or yellowish, loosely 

granular.„. 5.5 

1. Talus above water’s edge. 7 


“The whole section at Shell Bluff Landing is not well exposed because 
of talus coverings of portions of it. The base of the Ostrea georgiana bed is 
about 80 feet above zero water level in the river, or between 70 and 75 feet 
above the river bank at the landing. There is 8 to 12 feet of the section 
unexposed. The total thickness of the Ostrea georgiana bed is approximately 
24 feet, above which are yellowish sands and soil. 


Detailed section of a portion of the Ostrea georgiana bed is as follows: 

McBean formation. Feet. 

9. The upper 9 y% feet of thickness of this bed is 


largely talus-covered, but fragments of oysters 
were found on the surface, and it was inferred 
that the thickness is approximately as repre¬ 
sented . 9-5 

3. Calcareous conglomerate containing small quartz 

pebbles and poor fossils, one of them a coral, 

apparently Cladocora . 3.5 

2. Talus of yellowish sands. 6 

1. Oyster ledge.-.. 5 


Top of stratum No. 13, Shell Bluff, Ga., near mouth of Boggy Gut Creek: 

\ 

Pteropsis lapidosa Conrad 
Stratum 11, near mouth of Boggy Gut Creek'. 

Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 


Stratum No. 8 or 9 near mouth of Boggy Gut Creek : 


Carophyllia subdichotoma Lons. 
Dendrophyllia sp. 

Endopachy maclurii (Lea) 
Plejona petrosa (Conrad) 

Fusus trabeatus Conrad 
Fusus limulus Conrad ? 

Fusus irrasus Conrad ? 
Calyptraea aperta (Solander) 
Crepidula lirata Conrad 
Dentalium thalloides Conrad 
Nucula magnifica Conrad 
Leda pharcida Dali ? 
Glycymeris trigonella (Conrad) 


Glycymeris sp. indet. (?) staminea 
(Conrad) 

Crassatellites protextus (Conrad) 
var. 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 
Cytherea texacola Harris 
Cytherea perovata Conrad ? 

Cytherea discoidalis Conrad 
Cytherea poulsoni Conrad ? 

Corbula alabamiensis Lea 

Cobula oniscus Conrad 

Corbula fossata Meyer and Aldrich 













24G 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Stratum No. 8, near mouth of Boggy Gut Creek: 

Endopachys maclurii (Lea) Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 

Turritella (Mesalia) vetusta Conrad Cytherea sp. 

Turritella humerosa Conrad ? Pteropsis lapidosa Conrad 

small variety Lunulites bouei Lea 

Nucula magnifica Conrad ? Oxvrhina desori Agassiz 

Stratum No. 3, near mouth of Boggy Gut Creek: 

Marginella oonstrictoides Meyer Nucula magnifica Conrad 
and Aldrich Pecten sp. 

Turritella (Mesalia) vetusia Conrad ? Corbula fossata Meyer and Aldrich 

Shell Bluff Landing , from horizon below the Ostrea georgiana bed and the 
same as stratum No. S of the Boggy Gut Creek section. 

Coral—Astrangia? Leda sp. indet. 

Mesalia claibornensis (Conrad) ? Ostrea alabamiensis Lea. 

Turritella humerosa Conrad ? Venericardia planicosta Lam. 

small variety Nucula (internal cast, probably mag- 

Calyptraea aperta (Sol.). nifica Con.). 

Besides these: Lima? fragment, and a large gastropod, apparently a 
Naticoid. 

“The strata in the bluff at Shell Bluff from the base upward including 
bed No. 13 correspond in stratigraphic position to the Lisbon formation and 
probably a portion of the Tallahatta buhr-stone of Alabama.” 

The following section was made by the authors at a point about 
200 yards above the boat landing: 

Section at Shell Bluff. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

10. Slope, true character, of the rock largely con¬ 
cealed; upper part red sand with thin covering 

of gray sand. 70 

McBean formation. 

9. Poorly exposed; fragments of Ostrea georgiana: 
strata probably calcareous sand- and argilla¬ 
ceous limestone. 20 

8. Hard, white limestone, full of shells. 1 

7. White calcareous clay and sand with thin layers 

of pure limestone. 15 

6. Light, yellow or brown, fine sand, only slightly 

calcareous, partly consolidated. 8 

5. Soft, calcareous sandstone. 8 

4. Hard, calcareous sandstone full of comminuted 

shells.3 

3. Soft, friable, sandy marl. 4 

2. Hard, sandy limestone. 1 

1. Yellowish, friable, sandy marl, glauconitic ... 12 

Total.\ . . .. 142 


The following section occurs just below the boat landing and Is 
partly exposed in the wagon road leading to the top of the bluff: 












McBEAN FORMA TIOX 


247 


Section beloiv the landing at Shell Bluff. 


Eocene Feet. 

Barnwell sand. 

4. Yellow and gray incoherent sand. 5 


3. Partly concealed, but largely coarse, red sand . . 20 

McBean formation. 

2. Sandy and argillaceous marl, varying in hard¬ 
ness; contains some quartz pebbles as much as 
one inch in diameter. Large oyster shells were 
found at 110 feet above the river, and a con¬ 
spicuous bed of Ostrea georgiana occurs 75 feet 
above the river. The shells are also found 
in soil at lower elevations but these may have 


rolled down from the higher beds. 90 

Recent and Pleistocene. 

1. Talus and alluvium to river level. 20 


The calcareous rock at Shell Bluff, taken as a whole, is a sand\ 
and argillaceous marl. It presents variations from comparatively 
pure limestone through highly argillaceous and sandy marls to hrown 
friable sand, only slightly calcareous. Silica and clay predominate 
over lime and the rock often presents the aspect of a fine sand in a 
matrix of clav and calcium carbonate. The sand which is in micro¬ 
scopic particles consists mainly of angular quartz; scattered, reddish- 
brown needles, which are probably rutile, were also noted, and a very 
small amount of white mica was observed. The calcium carbonate 
is finely disseminated and is also in the form of shells and fine frag¬ 
ments of shells. Glauconite occurs but is not abundant. Small 
brown or^black particles of fossilized bones appear in the rock in the 
lower part of the bluff and larger fragments are occasionally found. 
Some of the marls contain scattered quartz pebbles from the size of 
a pea to an inch in diameter. The materials present a variety of col¬ 
ors such as white, gray, yellow, buff, and yellowish-green, although 
the aspect, as a whole, is white or gray. Shells of the large oyster, 
Ostrea georgianna . from which the bluff received its name, are con¬ 
spicuous from 80 to 100 feet above the river level. The shells are 
usually long and narrow, having a length of 12 to 15 inches and a 
width of three or four inches'; the valves are thick, often two inches. 
Very large specimens may have a length of 22 inches. Many speci¬ 
mens of the young are curved or sub-oval in shape. As pointed out by 
Dali, 1 this species is characterized by “low, flattish, distally forked 
radial riblets, quite different from anything observed on the surface of 
O. mauriciensis or 0 . virgimea ” 

"Rock of the same general lithologic character as that at Shell Bluff 
extends southward in the Savannah -bluffs to a point one and one-half 
miles below Griffin’s Landing, 17 miles by river from Shell Bluff. 

1 Trans. Wagner Free Ins. of Sci.. 1903. p. 1555. 






248 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


This is the last point at which it appears in the river bluffs, although 
probably it is near the surface still farther southward and lightly 
concealed by the overlying sand. 

Demerits Ferry ..—Very fossiliferous limestone and calcareous 
sand similar to that at Shell Bluff appear a short distance above 
Demerie’s Ferry, one and one-half miles below Shell Bluff. The 
calcareous bed at this point has an exposed thickness of 20 feet but it 
probably makes up the bluff to a height of 40 feet above the river. The 
marl and limestone bed is overlain by 50 to 60 feet of bright red argil¬ 
laceous sand (Barnwell sand). The fact that the top of the marl is 
here only 40 feet above the river whereas at Shell Bluff it is over 100 
feet above the same datum, means either that the red sands overlie 
the marls unconformably, or that the beds change from marl to calca¬ 
reous sand or even to pure sand, in a short distance horizontally or 
that the true character of the strata above the limestone is concealed 
by weathering and creep. The last explanation seems most plausible. 

A portion of the bed is a silicified mass of fossils. Venericardia 
planicosta and a small coral, Endopachys maclurii, are abundant. 

Hancock Landing. —Hancock Landing is about 11 miles by river 
below Shell Bluff. The bluff at the highest point is about 120 feet 
(aneroid reading) above river level. The rock exposed consists of 
limestone, friable marl, brown calcareous sand, greenish or bluish 
calcareous clay, and local beds of quartzite. Beds of ash-colored 
marls occur at the base of the bluff; the marl contains glauconite and 
a variable percentage of quartz sand. The upper part of the bluff 
is a brown and red sand, poorly exposed. Ostrea georgiam was 
noted here at a point 80 feet above the river, and it also appears at 
lower levels. The specimens show the characteristic ribbed markings. 
The beds in the lower part of the bluff, contain in addition to a large 
number of mollusca, fragments of bones, fish teeth and dental plates. 

The Hancock Landing bluff recedes from the river- for a short dis¬ 
tance and is again washed by the river at Utley Point, one-half mile 
below. Here, there is about 20 feet of ash-colored marl at the base 
of the bluff, similar to that at Hancock Landing. The strata at the 
upper end of the bluff are partly concealed by humus and talus. 
On account of the occurrence of Ostrea georgiana a description of this 
exposure is given. 

Section at Hancock Landing. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

8. Red, argillaceous sand, poorly exposed; contains 
no hard rock, and seems to be devoid of 
fossils. 40 



McBEAX FORMATIOX 


249 


McBean formation. 

7. Sandy, aluminous marl; contains large shells of 
Ostrea georgiana ; other fossils are Endopachys 
maclurii, Calyptrea aperta, Turritella carinata, 

Venericardia. Modiolus. This stratum is 80 
feet above the river. Thickness exposed . . 5 

6 . Concealed by humus and talus; soil contains 

large oyster shells. 35 

5. Sandy limestone, containing Ostrea georgiana. 

This may have rolled down from a higher level, 

but the rock is unlike bed No. 7. 4 

4. Strata concealed. 15 

3. Laminated clay.* 4 

2. Poorly exposed, but probably in the main, bluish, 

sandy marl, and rather hard, bedded clay . . 15 

1 . Concealed to the river level.' 7 

Blue Bluff. —This bluff is two miles below Hancock Landing. The 
lower part is a gray or asb-colored glauconitic marl which assumes 
a bluish color due to moisture. The section about one-third mile 
above the bluff proper is: 


Section about one-third mile above Blue Bluff. 


Barnwell sand. 

5. Brownish, incoherent sand, forms a thin veneer' 
over the plateau. 

4. Strata almost entirely concealed, small ex- • 
posure of red argillaceous sand. 

3. Red sand, exposed on roots of blown-over trees . 

2. Laminated, drab and greenish, sandy clay, partly 

concealed. 

McBean formation. 

1. Bluish and ash-colored, glauconitic marl; variable 
in percentage of clay and sand. At the base 
contains lines of white and blue limestone 
nodules. The marl is fossiliferous and con¬ 
tains the characteristic McBean species 
Ostrea sellaeformis and Pteropsis lapidosa . . 


Feet. 


60 


10 


40 


According to Dr. Vaughan, the basal bed of this section represents 
a horizon below the Gosport greensand of Alabama, probably within 
the Lisbon. . 


The part of Blue Bluff washed by the river shows the following: 


Section of part of bluff washed by the river. 


McBean formation. 

2. At top, grayish and brown argillaceous marl 
:.nd thin bedded layer of jointed, aluminous 
sandstone. The upper part of the bluff lighter 
in color and more argillaceous than the lower 
part. 


Feet. 


25 












250 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet, 

1. Bluish, glauconitic marl, massive bedded, con¬ 
tains white fragile shells and casts; fossils, 

Turritella. nasuta, Leda pharcida, Lucina 

subvexa, Pteropsis lapidosa . 12 

“Stratum 1 represents a horizon in the lower portion of the Claiborne.” 
T. W. V. 

The lower end of Blue Bluff shows a bluish marl which is similar 
to that in the sections described, and which contains limestone nod¬ 
ules. The marl is overlain by 50 feet of red, yellow and gray uncon¬ 
solidated sands. These sands contain clay laminae, rarely small peb¬ 
bles, and near the base imperfectly preserved fossils. 


Griffin Landing. —This locality is three miles below Blue Bluff, and 
147 miles above Savannah. The large fossil oyster, Osirea georgiana, 
is conspicuous in certain layers. 


Section at Griffin Landing. 


Barnwell sand. 

6 . Gray, structureless sand covering the upland,' 
probably residual . .. 

3. Red, rather coarse, quartz sand, free from - 

pebbles; glauconitic?. 

4. Brown or yellow argillaceous sand, glauconitic . 

McBean formation. 

3. Large specimens of Ostrea georgiana ' embedded 
in greenish-gray argillaceous sand and drab- 
clay . v . 

2. Drab, laminated clay in the nature of a fullers 
earth; not a persistent bed. 

1. Bed of large Ostrea georgiana in a matrix of pale 
greenish-clay; one specimen found which meas¬ 
ured 20 inches in length; in addition to Ostrea 
georgiana , contains Calyptrea aperta, Modiolus, 
Balanus . 


Feet. 


100 


10 

5 


10 


Lime-kiln Bluff. —Exposures of stratigraphic interest occur in the 
bluff one and one-half miles below Griffin’s Landing. Next to Shell 
Bluff, this is the highest bluff along the river; the level of the upland 
to the west was estimated to he 140 feet above the river. This is 
the site of an old lime-kiln, and since no local name for the bluff 
is known, the name “Lime-kiln” bluff is an appropriate designation. 

Section at Lime-kiln Bluff. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. Surface covered with gray sand.] 

4. Largely concealed, but probably yellow or red | 

sand.| 80 

3. Brown and red sand.J 












McBEAN FORMATION 


251 


McBean formation. Feet- 

2. Thinly laminated clay, with micaceous sand 

partings, grades downward into layers No. 1 . 10 

1. Sandy and clayey marl, both friable and consoli¬ 
dated; glauconitic; contains oyster shells, 
casts of other fossils, fish teeth and small 
fragments of bones. 50 


Another part of the "bluff shows: 

Barnwell sand. 

7. Slope, largely concealed, but probably sand and 

clay.(about) . 50 

McBean formation. 

6. Laminated clay with sand partings and thin 

layers of aluminous sandstone. 20 

5. Marl, containing Flabellum cuneiforme, Dendro- 

phyllia, Calyptrea aperta, Ostrea . 2 to 3 

4. Sandy, laminated clay. 3 

3. Bed composed of large oyster shells, Ostrea geor- 

georgiana in a matrix of sandy marl .... 20 

2. White, massive bed of sandy marl; a few oyster 

shells in the upper part. 20 

1. Concealed to river level. 5 or 6 

The iparl formation from Shell Bluff southward is regarded as 
representing a single formation of the Claiborne group, for no basis 
for a division was discovered. The red sands in the upper part of the 
bluffs are also regarded as part of the Claiborne group; there seems 
to be a transition from the marl to the red sands. 

RICHMOND COUNTY 

Hephzibah .—Marl of the McBean formation occurs on the farm 
of W. G. Tarver on McBean Creek, six miles south of Hephzibah, 
where Pteropsis lapidosa was collected. The exposure is on the edge 
of the swamp at McBean Creek where one foot of the marl bed ap¬ 
pears. The overlying,red sand of the Barnwell division has a thick¬ 
ness of 50 or 60 feet. The marl bed lies at a lower level than the base 
of the Claiborne group at Hephzibah and probably is underlain at a 
slight depth by Cretaceous strata. Across this territory there is a marl 
bed (McBean formation) bearing a lower Claiborne fauna overlain 
by red sand which seems to correspond to similar lithologic material 
(the Barnwell sand) in the vicinity of McBean, where it contains an 
upper Claiborne fauna. 


JEFFERSON COUNTY 

Louisville .—The character of the strata of the Claiborne group in 
this region may be ascertained from the record of an old oil pros¬ 
pecting well, three and one-half miles southwest of Louisville. From 
an examination of the borings it is believed that the base of the Clai- 









252 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


borne is reached at about 350 feet. The record of the upper part of 
the well is taken from the report on the Underground Waters of 
Georgia by S. W. McCallie. 1 


Partial log of oil 'prospecting well near Louisville. 


Mixed clay and sand. 


. . . from 

0 

to 

68 

Sand and rock. 


99 

68 

99 

74 

Blue clay. 


99 

74 

99 

76 

Blue clay and sand. 


99 

76 

99 

91 

Blue clay. 


99 

91 

99 

93 

Sand. 


It 

93 

99 

96 

Hard rock. 


99 

96 

99 

96 

Soft sand rock. 


99 

96 

99 

99 

Sand.. . . 


99 

99 

99 

113 

Hard rock. 


99 

113 

99 

114 

Sand. 


99 

114 

99 

116 

Soft rock. 


99 

116 

99 

119 

Hard rock. 


99 

119 

99 

120 

Blue clay. 


99 

120 

99 

132 

Sand rock. 


99 

132 

99 

142 

Sand and clay. 


99 

142 

99 

150 

Blue clay. 


99 

150 

99 

169 

Sand. 


99 

169 

99 

171 

Blue clay and shale. 


99 

171 

99 

176 

Hard rock'. 


99 

176 

99 

177 

Blue clay and sand layers . . . 


99 

177 

99 

184 

Hard rock. 

. . * . . 

99 

184 

99 

188 

Sand. 


99 

188 

99 

204 

Hard rock. 


99 

204 

99 

205 

Blue and white clay. 


99 

205 

99 

208 

Hard rock. 


u 

208 

99 

209 

Sand. 


99 

209 

99 

213 

Shale. 


99 

213 

99 

219 

Sand. 


99 

219 

99 

223 

Blue clay and shale. 


99 

223 

99 

269 

Pine sand. 


99 

269 

99 

275 

Clay and shale. 


99 

275 

99 

298 

Fine sand. 


99 

298 

99 

307 

Sand . . . 


99 

307 

99 

505 


It will be observed that no thick beds of either limestone or marl 
were encountered. The rock is principally sand, with a lesser 
amount of clay, containing shells. Uone of the borings indicated 
anything approaching pure limestone. The “hard rock,” is prob¬ 
ably sandstone or quartzite. With the exception of perhaps the first 
68 feet, all of the strata in the section down to about 350 feet belongs 
to the McBean formation. 

A bed of oyster shells and marl found at Warren’s Mill, three 
miles east of Louisville is reported to have been excavated to a depth 
of seven feet, the rock being used in the concrete work of a mill dam. 
There are no natural exposures. This rock is overlain by a bed of 


1 6eol. Surv. of Ga., Bull. 15, 1908, p. 129. 





































McBEAN FORMATION 


253 


fullers earth-like clay, which in places is rich in animal remains— 
shells, teeth, bones, etc. The surface formation is red sand. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

Sandersville. —A soft, white argillaceous limestone appears at the 
limesink on the B. T. Rawlings property, three-fourths mile south 
of the court house. The maximum thickness exposed is 10 feet. 
Fragments of an oyster, Ostrea georgiana , and Mortonia are abund¬ 
ant; the latter is so common as to attract local attention and is styled 
u lime biscuit.” The marl is overlain by red sand containing white 
sandstone beds. 

Sandstone containing Ostrea georgiana and thin layers of quartzite 
occur at “The Spring” on the east side of the road, a short distance 
east of the limesink. 

Prof. S. W. McCallie has furnished the following description of a 
section at Rocky Branch bridge two miles northwest of Sandersville, 
(unpublished notes:) 

Section at Bocky Branch Bridge. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

4. Reddish clays. 10 

3. Sandstone. 8 

McBean formation. 


2. Greenish sandy, glauconitic clay weathering 
yellow. This clay in places becomes silicified 
into flint-like layers, the total thickness being 

about. 8 

1. Greenish glauconitic sand with shark’s teeth 
and fragments of bone. About 100 yards further 
down the creek and apparently underlying the 
greenish glauconitic sands is a greenish, finely 
laminated clay with fragments of shells and 
plants. 

The exposure in the vicinity of the spring, one mile south of Sanders¬ 
ville Court House, consists of sandstone mostly as loose boulders in the 
soil. The only fossils noticed here were oysters which are always more or 
less fragmentary. 

A section at Limestone Creek, two miles south of Sandersville, made 
out from several exposures along the stream seems to be as folows: 


Section at Limestone Creek. 


McBean formation. Feet. 

3. Sandstone with oyster shells (near top) .... 10 

2. Sands and possibly some clay (only partially 

exposed) . 10 

1. Rotten fossiliferous limestone. 20 


The exposure along the creek is not continuous and the section here 
given is only approximately correct. 








254 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Tennille .—A soft, argillaceous marl occurs in a gully along the 
Central of Georgia Railway near the 139 milepost. 

Section at 139-Mile Post. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. Bright, red sand, fresh exposures not seen .... 10 

4. Fragmentary, siliceous layer; contains fragments 

of an oyster and Scutella ... IV 2 

3. Coarse,brown and yellow sand. 10 

2. Interval concealed, probably sand. 4 

McBean formation. 

1. Soft, calcareous rock, glauconitic and probably 
contains a higher percentage of clay than lime; 
casts of fossils abundant. 12 


Prof. McCallie has compiled the following section from exposures 
between the 138 and 139 mile-posts (unpublished notes') : 

Section between Mile-posts 138 and 139. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

9. Surface sands. 0-3 

8. Massive, orange-colored, sandy clays unconform- 

able with beds below .. 10 

7. Stratified sands and clays with fragments of 

oyster shells. 12 

6. Sandstone often fossiliferous along the parting 

planes. 4 

McBean formation. 

5. Greenish-gray clayey sand with fragments of 

oyster shells. % . 3 

4. Whitish, putty-like clay with layers 'of flint con¬ 
taining fossils . (?) 

3. Sandy, glauconitic clay. 3 (?) 

2. Fossiliferous, soft limestone with hard ledges. 10 (?) 

1. Bluish, tough clay with sand partings. 


The following fossils were obtained by Prof. McCallie at this 
locality: 


Fossils from, near Tennille. 

Glycymeris trigonella (Conrad) Corbula alabamiensls Lea 
Glycymeris idonea (Conrad) Crassatellites altus (Conrad) 

Mortonia sp., the common Eocene Crassatellites protextus var. lepidus 
species of eastern Georgia Dali 

Endopachys maclurii (Lea) Ostrea alabamiensis Lea 

According to Dr. Vaughan the geologic horizon is Claibornian and 
seems to be in the uppermost portion, i. e., above the Ostrea sellae- 
formis-Pteropsis laptdosa zone, or the fossils come from the Barnwell 
sand. 

Sunhill .—A bed of compact, crystalline limestone outcrops one- 
quarter of a mile south of the depot, and was at one time used in the 
manufacture of lime. 














McBEAN FORMATION 255 

Section at old lime-kiln, Sunhill. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Dark, red, fine-grained, sand, surface aspect due 
to weathering, contains vitreous flint, prob¬ 
ably due to replacement of a calcareous 
rock. 15 

2. Argillaceous sand. 1.5 

McBean formation ? 

1. White, compact limestone, containing shells and 
Bryozoa; Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale, 

Venericardia alticostata , etc. 6+ 


Davisboro .—Large boulders of flint, which are residual and evi¬ 
dently a replacement of limestone, occur two miles southeast of 
Davisboro, on the property of S. J. Taylor, on a small tributary of 
Williamson’s Swamp Creek. The rock contains poorly preserved fos¬ 
sils and has the appearance of the flint of the Claiborne group. 

The following section occurs at Tarver’s Mill, eight miles south¬ 
east of Davisboro: 


Section at Tar vers' Mill. 

Pliocene ? Feet. In. 

Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation 

6. Mottled argillaceous sand covered with gray 

sand. 10_j_ 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand (?) 

a. Red sand . 20 

4. Red and yellow sand. 12 

3. Clay layer. 0 6 

2. Yellow and white quartz sand. 15 

McBean formation. 

1. White, sandy claystone; contains fragments of ' 
shells and sharks teeth, exposed to water’s 
edge. 5 


There are no data to establish the stratigraphic position of the beds 
here definitely; the succession, red and yellow sands over clay, sug¬ 
gests identity with sections of the Claiborne group elsewhere. 

TWIGGS COUNTY 

The northern part of Twiggs County presents much the same 
succession of beds as Wilkinson County, (see page 293.)—namely, 
red and vari-colored sands over drab, massive and laminated clays and 
fullers earth, both of which rest imcomformably upon white clay beds 
and kaolinitic sands of the Cretaceous. There are also beds of sand¬ 
stone, quartzite, and limestone in the Claiborne group. 

Dry Branch .—Fine exposures appear at the various clay mines 
near Dry Branch. 











256 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


' Section at the mines of the Georgia Kaolin Company, two miles 


southeast of Dry Branch. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. Fine, red sand observed along the slope to the 
top of the ridge—dark, red color, probably 
a surface phenomenon due to weathering . . 100 

McBean formation? 

4. Greenish and drab, faintly laminated clay of 
low specific gravity, contains casts of fossils; 
contains local lenses of soft, friable limestone, 

a foot or two in thickness. 15 

. 3. Fine, yellow, quartz sand. 12 

2. Soft, white limestone,, and limestone and kaolin 
breccia; contains characteristic Claibornian 
fossils, corals, a large oyster, Nucula ovula 


Lea, Leda sp., Crassatellites altus (Conrad), 
Venericardia planicosta Lamarck, Cytherea 


perovata Conrad, etc. 4 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Massive beds of white clay. 20 


Stratum No. 2 presents a curious breccia, consisting of soft fossilif- 
erous limestone and chunks of white clay. The white clay was evi¬ 
dently derived from the underlying bed but the limestone is in its 
place of origin. 

Another local development of limestone appears in a ravine a short 
distance, southeast of the mines. This lies 10 to 15 feet above the 
Cretaceous, but from the fossils it is known to belong to the Jackson 
formation, (see page 304.) 

Gallemore. —A fossiliferous marl or limestone occurs in the bed of 
the creek at the mill near Gallemore or Willis Station. The rock is 
a bluish-gray, siliceous marl which in places is indurated. It con¬ 
sists of fine quartz sand, imbedded in a matrix of clay and calcium 
carbonate, and has much more the lithological aspect of the McBean 
formation than of the Jackson or the Vicksburg, which appear a short 
distance farther south. Fossils are abundant, and an oyster was 
noted, the species of which has not been determined. 

Prof. McCallie collected the following fossils at Gallemore Station, 
Twiggs County: 

Fossils from Gallemore Station. 

Plejona pretosa (Conrad) 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 

Turritella carinata Lea 
Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) 

Leda sp. 

Glycymeris sp. 

Diplodonta ungulina (Conrad) ? 

Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) 

Corbula sp. 






McBEAN FORMATION 


257 


The following succession of beds was noted at Rocky Hill, one 
mile southwest of Gallemore: 


Section at Rocky Hill. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red sand similar to the Barnwell sand at other 

localities. 40 

2. Siliceous limestone or flint. 8 

McBean formation. 

1. Drab, clay, laminated, porous, and like fullers 

earth. (?) 


South of this locality the Altamaha (Lafayette ? ) and Vicksburg 
formations appear at the surface. 

In the western part of the county there are numerous exposures 
showing the McBean formation in contact with the Cretaceous. At 
a point one mile south of Bond’s store, or Delzel postoffice, the Con- 
garee clay member reaches a thickness of 80 feet and is overlain by 
red sand. The red sand of this formation, which is frequently 
coarse and contains limonite crusts and hollow nodules, is in places 
in contact with the Cretaceous, the heavy fullers earth-clav beds 
being absent. Local beds of limestone are reported. 

AREA WEST OF OCMULGEE RIVER 

The strata between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers present a close 
general lithologic similiarity to those of the eastern area. Along the 
northern margin of the formation, red, rather coarse sands at the 
surface overlie laminated or thin bedded clay, wffiile southward or 
seaward the beds are calcareous, and sandy marls, very similar to 
those along Savannah River, interbedded with clay, are overlain by 
red sand similar to the Barnwell sand. Flint appears to be absent, 
but there are occasional thin sandstone or quartzite layers in the 
sand. Clay or fullers earth is less extensively developed, but this 
phase is represented by drab, laminated, fossiliferous clays, such as 
occur at the base of the formation at Fort Gaines. 

Within the area lying between Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee riv¬ 
ers exposures of strata belonging to the Claiborne group have been 
examined four and one-half miles south of Perry, Houston County; 
along Flint River at several localities, notably at the old Danville 
Ferry and at Penny Bluff; and along Chattahoochee River for a con¬ 
siderable distance below Fort Gaines. Other localities in the Chatta¬ 
hoochee drainage area are described on subsequent pages of this paper. 
Fair collections of fossils have been obtained from a number of ex¬ 
posures rendering it safe to state that the McBean formation extends 
uninterruptedly from Savannah to Chattahoochee rivers. However, 





258 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


the formation is often masked by later deposits ranging in age from 
Jackson and Vicksburg to perhaps Pleistocene. The red, rather 
coarse sands that underlie the Vicksburg and overlie the recognizable 
McBean may be the westward continuation of the Barnwell sand, but 
as no fossils have been obtained from the sands between Ocmulgee 
and Chattahoochee rivers, a positive correlation with the Barnwell 
sand of the Savannah drainage can not be made. 

Perry, Houston County —Strata four and one-half miles south of 
Perry on the Perry-Elko public road, have been referred to the Clai¬ 
borne group by Or. Vaughan, who has furnished the following sec¬ 
tion and list of fossils. 

“On the top of Mossy Hill, four and one-half miles south of Perry, Pecten 
perplanus and Cytherea sobrina were found in the chert. These fossils indi¬ 
cate that the northern slopes of Mossy Hill, from the summit of the hill to 45 
feet below the summit, are covered by the Vicksburg formation. 


Section down Mossy Hill along an old road leading to the northwest. 

Oligocene. 

Vicksburg formation. 

7. Brownish or reddish soil with chert. Vicksburg 

fossils. 20 

Eocene 

Jackson formation ? 

6. Brownish soil, underlying material concealed . . 5 

5. Gray clay. ~ 

4. Mostly concealed. 10 

3. Gray clay. 5 

McBean formation. 

2. Limestone ledges with Claiborne fossils, list 

follows. 5 

1. Gray or buff clay. 5 

Total. 50 


Fossils from Mossy Hill. 


Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale 
Turbinolia pharetra Lea 
Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 
Turritella carinata Lea x 
Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) x 
Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 
Dentallium thalloides Conrad 
Nucula ovula Lea 
Leda sp. 


Leda sp. 

Glycymeris idoneus (Conrad) ? 
Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) x 
Venericardia, 2 or 3 sp. 

Cytherea sp. 

Crassatellites sp. 

Corbula oniscus Con. or wallesiana 
Harris 

Corbula densata Conrad ? 


Geologic horizon.—-Claiborne, “x” not known from the Jackson.” 


A list of the species in a collection by Prof. McCallie from 
this locality, as furnished by Dr. Vaughan, is as follows: 









McBEAN FORMATION 


259 


Fossils from Perry-Elko public road, four and one-half miles south 

of Perry, Houston County. 


Turbinolia pharetra Lea 
Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale 
Plejona petrosa (Conrad) * 
Levifusus trabeatus Conrad 
Turritella carinata Lea x 
Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) x 
Dentalim thalloides Conrad 
Nucula ovula Lea 
Leda sp. 

Glycymeris trigonella (Conrad) x 


Pteria sp. 

Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) x 
Phacoides aff. claibornensis (Con¬ 
rad) x 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) x 
Cytherea sp. 

Crassatellites protextus (Conrad) x 
Corbula oniscus Conrad x 
Pteropsis lapidosa (Conrad)x 


“x” not known from above the Claiborne. Pteropsis lapidosa is charac¬ 
teristic of the lower Claiborne. 


According to Veatch the beds at this exposure consist mainly of 
drab, calcareous clay and thin layers of limestone, similar lithologi¬ 
cally to the upper part of the Ross Hill section. Fossils were col¬ 
lected at an old quarry about 100 yards west of the public road, and 
four and one-half miles south of Perry. The strata forming the up¬ 
per and lower part of the hill are concealed or poorly exposed. The 
following is a section by Veatch: 


Section at quarry, four and one-half miles south of Perry. 


10. Red, residual sand capping the top of the hill . . 

9. Probably calcareous clay, about. 

Quarry exposure: 

8. Calcareous clay. 

• 7. Limestone. 

6. Drab, calcareous clay, contains calcite nodules . 

5. Limestone. 

4. Clay. 

3. Limestone. 

2. Clay. 

1. Poorly exposed, probably limestone and clay, 
about . 


Feet. In. 

40 
4 

0 10 

4 

1 6 

2 
1 

2 6 

20 


Both the clay and the limestone contain fossils. The fossils col¬ 
lected from this locality were from beds 5 to 8. 

Dr. Vaughan submits the following note on Veatch’s collections: 


Besides material similar to that obtained by Prof. McCallie and myself, 
Mr. Veatch obtained specimens as follows: 

Fossils from quarry , four and one-half miles south of Perry. 


Mortonia sp. 

Clypeaster sp. 

Pecten perplanus Morton 
Panopaea sp. 










260 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Lunulites distans (Lonsdale) 

Idmonea n. sp. (Identified by Doctor Bassler, who states that it 
occurs at various Jackson localities, among them Rich Hill, 
Crawford County.) 

“The paleontologic evidence indicates the presence at this locality of two 
horizons, viz.: a lower one of Claiborne age, from which Prof. McCallie 
and I collected, and from which Mr. Yeatch also obtained material; and an 
upper horizon of Jackson age, from which Mr. Veatch obtained Pecten per- 
planus Morton and the species of Idmonea reported upon by Doctor Bassler. 
According to Mr. Veatch, as he could observe no lithologic differences in the 
section, he was unable to differentiate the exposure into two formations. 
The Barnwell seems to be absent.” 

This exposure of the Claiborne group described in the preceding 
paragraph, lies south of and at a higher elevation than the exposure 
of the Jackson formation at Ross Hill, three miles south of Perry 
(see page 301), indicating that at this locality, as Dr. Vaughan sug¬ 
gests, there has been either a fold or a fault in the strata or that the 
Claiborne here represents an erosion knob. The natural exposures in 
the neighboring areas are very poor, the contact between the higher 
formations and the Claiborne being concealed, so that it is impossible 
to make dip observations. 

Flint River. —A small area of rock, exposed in the bluffs of Flint 
River in the southern part of Dooly and the eastern part of Sumter 
counties, belongs to the McBean formation. 

The following is a section of a bluff near the old Danville ferry, 
located 16% miles east of Americus, and one mile above the present 
ferry on the Americus-Drayton road. The bluff is on the right side 
of the river and is 50 feet high. 

Section at old Danville Ferry, Flint River. 

Pleistocene terrace deposit. 

6. Yellow, sandy loam, grading down into light mot¬ 
tled, sandy residual clay. 7 

Oligocene. 

Vicksburg formation. 

5. Sand, coarse to fine, variegated in color, with 
scattered fragments of flint; contains residual 
clay. 23 

Eocene. 

McBean formation. 

4. Soft, calcareous sand and sandy limestone ... 8 

3. Layer of indurated limestone containing Pecten, 

Mortonia and an oyster. 2 

2. Soft, glauconitic shell-marl. 2 

1. Compact, sandy limestone with rows of limestone 
concretions in places becoming an argillaceous 
marl with varying amounts of glauconites . . 8 

Dr. Vaughan furnishes the following, note: 






McBEAN FORMATION 


261 


“Dr. L. W. Stephenson made a collection at this locality and obtained 
the following fossils: 

Fossils from old Danville Ferry. 


Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 
Mortonia lyelli (Conrad) 
Turritella carinata Lea 
Calyptrea aperta (Sol.) 
Nucula ovula Lea 
Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 
Pecten lyelli Lea 


Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) 
Phacoides cariniferus (Conrad) 
Miltha claibornensis (Conrad) 
Tagelus ? sp. 

Corbula oniscns Conrad 
Lunulites distans Lonsdale 


“It seems possible that two horizons may be represented in this collec¬ 
tion, as Ostrea sellaeformis is not known to range upward to the uppej* 
Claiborne, and Lunulites distans is not known to range downward below the 
upper Claiborne. Miltha clail>ornensis is so far as at present known confined 
below the Gosport horizon of Alabama. A part of this section is positively 
the equivalent of the Lisbon horizon of Alabama, and that portion of Shell 
Bluff below the Ostrea georgiana bed.” 


Claiborne strata appear at Penny Bluff, 12 miles west of Vienna, 
and about one and one-half miles above old Danville Perry. 


Section at Penny Bluff. 

Pleistocene (terrace sand) Feet 

4. Gray incoherent sand.2 or 3 

Eocene. 

McBean formation. 

3. Fossiliferous, thin-bedded sandstone; disinte¬ 
grates into thin slabs which cover the face of 
the bluff and partly obscure the bed in the 

lower part. 6 

2. Greenish and drab sandy clay, contains calca¬ 
reous nodules in places. 8 

1. White, semi-indurated calcareous sand. Has a 
pitted appearance and shows root-like or 
fucoid-like protuberances. Large Ostrea geor¬ 
giana occur in this sand, as well as masses of 
comminuted shells. 8 


Fossils from Penny Bluff. 


Turritella sp. 

Calyptrea aperta (Sol.) 
Leda sp. 

Area rhomboidella Lea 
Ostrea georgiana Conrad 


Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 

Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 

Cytherea 

Mactra 

Corbula, etc. 


Spencer 1 gives the following description of the Flint Biver Clai¬ 
borne : 


“Along the Flint River the Claiborne beds are well marked; commenc¬ 
ing in the bluff just above the old Danville ferry. This bluff is over half a 
mile long and is composed of alternate layers of hard and soft sandy lime¬ 
stones, with beds as much as four feet thick, the softer beds haying a more 
marly and clayey appearance. The rock is of a greenish or yellowish-white 

meport of progress : Geological Survey of Georgia, 1890-1891, pp. 51, 52. 







262 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


color, its surface weathers into somewhat rough, but hardly jagged forms* 
which are so characteristic of certain beds of an overlying cherty formation. 
These Claiborne beds are well characterized by Ostrea sellaeformis, which 
are most abundant at the base of and in the harder ledges. In these bluffs 
the limestones rise to somewhat over 20 feet above the water and they are 
capped by an equal thickness of superficial sands and loams. 

“Above and below the mouth of Ebenezer Creek, upon the left bank, ex¬ 
cellent exposures occur in steep bluffs rising to 15 or 20 feet above high 
water. Here, the beds appear for considerable ‘distances as quite horizontal* 
but again suddenly bend down at steep angles, which are followed by a 
return dip, thus producing undulations. The hard ledges stand out in bold 
relief, and the softer have a clay-like appearance. In some or the beds these 
harder layers form the larger proportions of the mass; in others but a small 
proportion.’ 

Chattahoochee River. —According to Langdon the Claiborne ex¬ 
tends from the mouth of Yantayabba Creek, Ala., to a point near 
Gordon, Ala., a distance approximately 25 miles air-line. 

Langdon’s description from the base upward follows: 

(Base) Feet. 

57. Plain buhrstone, rather sandy. 40 

58. Light, yellowish green sand containing numbers 

of small Ostrea sellaeformis . 45 

59. Buhrstone, supposed summit of the series ... 55 

60. Greenish-yellow, calcareous clay with a few de¬ 

composed fossils and an occasional large 
Ostrea sellaeformis . 12 

61. White, sandy limestone, with Ostrea sellaeformis 

in abundance, and pockets of large-sized shells. 

Makes capping ledge to island at mouth of 
Omussee Creek, where the bluff is about 
twenty feet high. This stratum is made up of 
• alternate beds of hard and soft strata, all con¬ 
taining more or less Ostrea sellaeformis. The 
harder strata weather out into root-like shapes 
and are sometimes rather argillaceous. Many 
return dips occur in this stratum stringing it 
along the banks for many miles further than 
it would be normally. The dips are all steep 
both ways and many gaps in the succession are 
caused by the washing out of the soft strata. 

Owing to these gaps and return dips it is 
rather hard to estimate the thickness of the 
stratum with much accuracy. It dips below 
the surface of the river two miles below 
Gordon, Ala., and is last seen on the Georgia 
bank. At Gordon there is a very pronounced 
return dip, estimated at and not exceeding . 60 

62. The “Scutella bed” weathers so as to make it not 
possible to count up its thickness. It is liter¬ 
ally full of fossils, mainly Scutella lyelli and 
Pecten nuperus with a few smaller and 
thicker Scutella. A bluff about 20 feet high 
occurs opposite the mouth of Sowhatchee 
Creek, Ga.25 to 30 

1 Geology of the Coastal Plain of Alabama : Geol. Survey of Alabama, 1894, pp. 
744, 745. 







McBEAN FORMATION 


263 


Nos. 57 to 61 belong to the Claiborne group and represent the Me- 
Bean formation. No. 62 is suggestive of the Jackscn and the prob- 
ability of its being Jackson rather than Claiborne is mentioned by 
Langdon. 1 

The following section made by Dr. Stephenson from expos¬ 
ures along a road running east from the town of Fort Gaines reveals 
the character of the strata forming the upland above the second ter¬ 
race plain; the base of the section is about 105 or 110 feet above the 
level of the river: 

Section, Fort Gaines , above the Upper Terrace Plain. 

Age ? ] 

8. Coarse, red, ferruginous pebbly sand. (Similar ma¬ 
terials extend down over the hill for some distance 
—probably creep) about . 

McBean formation. 

7. Greenish sandy clays, and argillaceous sands, more 

or less weathered and mottled, about. 

6. Compact, fine, greenish-gray sandstone, with fossil 

prints. (Fossils collected) about. 

5. Pale green, fine loose sand, about. 

4. Compact, fine, greenish-gray sandstone , with fossil 

prints. (Fossils collected) about. 

3. Light green, compact, finely arenaceous clay about . . 

2. Fine, green sandstone, about. 

1. Greenish clays and sands, more or less weathered and 
mottled, about. 

Total, about. 

Fossils collected from 55 to 65 feet below the top of the hill wen- 
identified by Dr. Vaughan as follows: 

Plejona sp. Miltha claibornensis (Conrad) 

Turritella sp. Cytherea sp. 

Leda pharcida Dali ? Solen lisbonensis Aldrich ? 

Venericardia planicosta Lam. 

On the basis of these fossils the strata Nos. 1 to 7 are referred 
to the McBean formation. The age of bed No. 8 in the section is in 
doubt. Similar red sand which contains a bed of Ostrea divaricata 
was observed southward. 

The McBean formation also appears in Chattahoochee River 
bluff at Fort Gaines. The base of the Claiborne is 50 to 55 feet 
above mean stages of the river. The rock is a drab, laminated clay or 
clay stone, and gray, fossiliferous sand. For sections of the bluff 
and fossils see pages 23T233. The fossils Ostrea sellaeformis Conrad 
and Pecten lyelli Lea were obtained about 40 feet below the top of 
the section, or 12 to 14 feet above the base of the McBean formation. 

There is’ an interesting locality at the mouth of Omussee Creek, a 


15 

40 

3 

3 

3 

7 

3 

65 

140 


*Op cit., p. 383. 











264 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


short distance below Columbia, Ala. A small, triangular island 
capped with brown marl and covered with specimens of a large, sad¬ 
dle-shaped oyster, Ostrea sellaeformis , lies adjacent to the creek’s 
mouth. The capping rock is a brown, compact marl, granular in ap¬ 
pearance, and very similar to much of the Claiborne marl on Savan¬ 
nah River. It is composed of fine angular quartz sand and white 
or yellow clay cemented with calcium carbonate; there are small scat¬ 
tered grains of glauconite and phosphate. This bed is three and 
one-half feet thick and forms a projecting ledge over the lower bed. 
On account of the high water in the river only seven feet of the 
lower bed was exposed when visited by the writers. The bed is ash- 
colored or bluish, soft and contains more clay and less sand and 
calcium carbonate than the capping rock. A hard, siliceous lime¬ 
stone overlain by red and varicolored sand was observed a short dis¬ 
tance up the creek from the island. A similar limestone appears 
near the wagon bridge over the river, on the Georgia side. 

A good collection of fossils was obtained from a sandy fullers 
earth-like clay, two and one-half miles east of Tort Gaines. 


flection of hill along 'public road to Edison, two and one-half miles 

east of Fort Gaines. 

Feet. 


Age ? 

8. At the top of the hill, structureless, deep red sand, at 
surface; light colored and yellowish in fresh ex¬ 


posures . 30 

McBean formation. 

7. Greenish, laminated clay. 2 


u. oauu. o 

5. Drab, laminated clay (fossils collected) and aluminous 
soft sandstone; black clay layers at the base; frag¬ 
ments of stems and leaves. 15 

4. Clay and sand, about. 5 

3. Black, sulphurous, sandy clay. 4 

2. Aluminous sandstone, prints or fossils. 2y 2 

1. Concealed to level of creek. 4 


Fossils collected from FTo. 5, and identified by Dr. Vaughan, are 
as follows: 


Fossils from layer No. 5 in preceding section. 


Plejona petrosa (Conrad) 
Plejona sayana (Conrad) 
Leda 

Barbatia cuculloides (Conrad) 
Barbatia rhomboidella (Lea) 
Anomia 

Leda pharcida Dali. 


Venericardia sp. 

Cytherea discoidalis Conrad 
Metis raveneli (Conrad) 
Tellina mooreana Gabb 
Mactra 

Pteropsis lapidosa Conrad 


“This represents the lower portion of the Alabama Claiborne.” T. W. Y. 










McBEAN FORMATION 


265 


There seems to be a lithologic gradation from the upper red sand 
to the lower sandy clay. The tops of the hills are about 300 feet 
above the Chattahoochee River. At Mount Vernon church, four and 
one-half miles east of Fort Gaines, an erosion remnant of orbitoidal 
chert was found overlying the Claiborne red sand. At Fort Gaines 
the thickness of the Claiborne group must be nearly 200 feet. 

Fear Heves mill, on the south side of Colomokee Creek, seven 
miles south of Fort Gaines, a thin, unconsolidated bed of small Ostrea 
divaricata shells occur in the upper red sand of the Claiborne group 
and laminated drab and black clays form the basal part of the sec¬ 
tion. Still farther south the basal clays of the Claiborne group be¬ 
come more calcareous and are partly replaced by limestone and marl. 

At Grimsley s' mill, 13 miles south of Fort Gaines and about two 
miles east of the Chattahoochee River, characteristic lower Claiborne 
fossils were collected. The generalized section here is as follows: 

Generalized section at Grimleys Mill. 


3. Red sand.50 to 75 

Eocene. 

McBean formation. 

2. Interbedded clayey marl, and bluish or drab fullers 
earth-like clay; Ostrea divaricata, Pteropsis lapidosa, 


Calyptrea aperta .15 to 20 

1. Soft, argilaceous marl and limestone. 10 


A marl exposure was visited on the farm of W. C. Hutchins, on 
“Chattahoochee River, nine miles west of Blakely. From a number 
of exposures it is inferred that the beds underlying the first terrace 
plain which lies 35 or 40 feet above the river, are bluish and ash- 
colored sandy marls and clays and beds of sandy limestone, overlain 
by Pleistocene sands and clays. Red sand containing thin beds of 
broken shells appears in the scarp of the upland. 

The following is the columnar section of the Claiborne group at 
fhis locality: 

Section on farm of W. C. Hutchins. 

Feet. 

10-. Red sand, often highly ferruginous, appears on the 


higher land. ? 

9. Thin bed of comminuted shells, O. divaricata . 1 

8. Red sand. 12 

7. Unconsolidated bed of sand; layer of loose shells, O. 

divaricata . 2 

6. Red quartz sand. 12 

5. Bluish argillaceous sand. 12 











266 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


4. Sandy limestone. 

3. Bluish and drab sandy laminated clay. 

2. Marl bed, composed of shells, teeth, bones, in a[ 40 
matrix of calcareous, glauconitic clay and sand . 

1. Hard sandy limestone.. 

Strata of the character of that from 1 to 4 underlie the first terrace plain 
and have a total thickness of about 40 feet. The strata Nos. 5 to 9 were 
observed along the public road east from Mr. W. C. Hutchins' residence. 

Other localities .—Eastward from Fort Gaines but few fossilifer- 
ous localities have been found, and the strata mapped as Claiborne 
were determined to be such, mainly on the grounds of their lithologic 
character, stratigraphic position between known Vicksburg and Wil¬ 
cox strata, and the presence of erosion unconformities separating the 
formation from the two formations mentioned. 

The Claiborne red sands at Fort Gaines were traced northeastward 
to Cuthbert, where there is a thickness of only 50 or 75 feet. Un- 
conformable relations with the overlying Vicksburg formation were 
observed in the cuts of the Central of Georgia Railway, two miles 
west of Cuthbert, and an unconformity believed to separate it from 
the Wilcox formation was found in the cuts three miles west. At the 
old quarries one mile northwest, there is a soft aluminous sandstone 
and laminated drab clay, overlain by fine red sand, probably Clai¬ 
borne. The soft sandstone contains a few fossils; Dr. Vaughan iden¬ 
tified Turritella probably carinata. 

The fine variegated sand which is exposed in the vicinity of 
Shellman is referred to the Claiborne group. Flint fragments of 
the Vicksburg formation imbedded in sandy clay, quite different 
from the underlying Claiborne strata, are found on the higher land, 
while a few miles northward from Shellman irregular contacts with 
the underlying Wilcox formation were found. The Claiborne sand 
conrains very little clay, but in a few places contains beds of brown 
or black limonitic sandstone. This soft sandstone was used in the 
abutments of the Central of Georgia Railway trestle over Ichaway- 
nochaway Creek, two miles east of Shellman. No fossils were found, 
The thickness in the vicinity of Shellman is probably 100 to 150 
feet. 

At Cordray Mill, on Ichawaynochaway Creek, 12 miles east of 
Edison, a calcareous, aluminous sand, slightly indurated, occurs in 
the bed of the creek. This material contains a few clay fossil casts 
and fragments of an oyster shell, and probably belongs to the Mc- 
Bean formation. At Bateman “Hammock,” one and one-half miles 
below the mill, there is an exposure of about one foot of clayey sand 
and sandstone which contains Ostrea divaricata. Above this bed 
there are three feet of hard, sandy limestone, containing a species 






McBEAN FORMATION 


267 


of Pecten , Bryozoa, and fragments of a large oyster. There is some 
probability that this limestone bed belongs to the Jackson formation. 

At Parrott, Terrell County, the high ridge followed by the Sea¬ 
board Air Line Railway is capped with red sandy clay containing 
residual fragments from the Vicksburg formation, but both to the 
east and west on the lower land, there are red and yellow incoherent 
sands quite different from the Vicksburg materials, and probably 
referable to the Claiborne groups. At Walker’s Mill on Mossy Creek 
about one and a half miles southeast of Parrott, there is an exposure 
of aluminous sandstone, quartzite, and drab claystone overlain by 
red sand, similar to the section of the Claiborne group at Fort 
Gaines. 

What is probably the McBean formation was found in a bluff of 
Kinchafoonee Creek, near Hall’s Bridge, four miles southwest of 
Smitbville. The rock is a bard, aluminous, calcareous quartzite, and 
white, flaggy sandstone similar to that at Penny Bluff, Flint River. 
The fossils are not well perserved but are suggestive of the Claiborne. 
About six feet of bard ^ock is exposed and is overlain by red sand. 

The Claiborne group in the vicinity of Americus, and south of 
Andersonville, consists principally of quartz sand, in places highly 
ferruginous. Unconformities with the overlying Vicksburg forma¬ 
tion may be seen in railway and road cuttings in and near the city 
of Americus. Bluish, sandy clay and sandy, glauconitic marl and 
sandstone, doubtless in the Claiborne group, are encountered in well 
borings at Americus. 

CONGAREE CLAY MEMBER OF McBEAN FORMATION 

The term Congaree, as has been stated, is adopted from South 
Carolina. Sloan 1 defines the Congaree as follows: 

“The Congaree phase is abundantly exhibited in the western Tertiary 
division along a curved line extending by Aiken, Sandy Run (on the 
Congaree), Wedgefield, and thence down the eastern side of Santee River; 
it is also characteristically exhibited along the belt extending from Wedgefield 
towards the eastern division north of the Carolinian ridge. East of the 
latter the Congaree phase is probably exhibited in thin shales interlaminated 
with sands along the western bluffs of Peedee River.” 

Again quoting Sloan: 2 

“The Congaree phase exhibits its littoral line along Hollow Creek near 
Savannah River and proceeds with occasional tongues extended in con¬ 
formity with the shore-line indicated for the Tertiary. The main line pro¬ 
ceeds from McBean Creek Valley, Ga., by Beech Island, Aiken, Perry, Hor¬ 
sey’s Bridge, and Gaston, to the vicinity of Congaree Bluff.” 

^Catalogue of mineral localities of South Carolina : Geol. Survey of South Carolina, 
p. 454. 

2 Op. cit., p. 455. 



268 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

Lithologic descriptions of the Congaree near Gaston, S. C., and 
Congaree Creek are given "by Sloan. 1 

The Congaree as described in South Carolina and the member to 
which this term is applied in Georgia are regarded as equivalent. 
Both lies at the base of the Claiborne group and have a close, litho¬ 
logical similarity. The clays of this member in Georgia rest directly 
upon the Lower Cretaceous, and are separated from it by conspicu¬ 
ous erosion unconformities of regional extent; striking differences in 
lithologic character and the presence of fossils in the former afford 
an easy means of distinguishing between the two. 

Faunally the Congaree clay member does not seem to differ from 
the lower faunal horizon of the marl of the McBean formation. It 
seems probable that the clays represent a shoreward phase, or that 
the Congaree clay member becomes more calcareous southward and 
gradually merges into the marl. In most of the sections studied, the 
clay and fullers earth seem to pass by gradation upward into the 
Barnwell sand. There are, however, some unconformities between the 
two and abrupt changes in the character of the strata; these inay 
be of only local significance, such as might take place in a shallow 
water deposition. 

The fullers earth is drab or gray, often appearing olive-green when 
moist, fine-grained, thinly-bedded, and minutely jointed. It is gen¬ 
erally sandy and contains small sand lenses and pockets, and has thin, 
micaceous sand partings; the earth is soft, unctuous, and breaks 
with a smooth, conchoidal fracture. It possesses a low specific gravity 
and peculiar physical properties,—thin pieces of the dry earth are 
light enough to float on water; it is highly porous, and adheres 
strongly to the tongue. In a few places the Congaree clay member 
contains a large amount of disseminated, lignitic matter, and thin 
beds of lignite, as at the lignite pit, three miles south of Grovetown, 
which will be subsequently described. Thin-bedded shale-like, alum¬ 
inous sandstones and dense, vitreous quartzites werq observed near 
the base of the member at Hephzibah, Wrens, Gibson, Chalker, and 
other localities. At a number of localities greenish or drab, stiff, or 
tough clays, showing little or no lamination and attaining a thickness 
of 80 or 100 feet, lie in contact with the Lower Cretaceous. In places 
the materials CQnsist of alternating layers, a few inches thick, of clay 
and vari-colored sand. 

The clay and fullers earth beds reach a thickness of at least 100 
feet. This member contains abundant fossil remains in a few places, 
though on the whole, it is not so fossiliferous as the marls. The ani¬ 
mal remains are mainly molluscan casts, although the clay also con- 


J Op. cit., pp. 346, 347. 



McBEAN FORMATION 


26& 


tains thin marly layers in which shells occur in quantity, and in 
which fish teeth and fragments of bones are found. Plant localities 
have been discovered at Grovetown, Hephzibah in Richmond County, 
and 10 miles south of Macon in Bibb County. This member is not 
paleontologically distinct from the McBean formation. 

There are numerous outcrops of the Congaree clay member from 
Grovetown southwestward along the Fall Line to Bibb and Twiggs 
counties. It is confined to the northern part of the area of the out¬ 
crop of the McBean formation, but no sharp line separating the mem¬ 
ber either from the marls of the McBean formation to the south or 
the overlying Barnwell sand can be drawn. The most prominent and 
typical exposures are at Grovetown, Harlem, Gibson, Gordon, Rob¬ 
erts, and Pikes Peak in Twiggs County. The clays have had no 
marked influence on the soil and vegetation, and outcrops appear 
mainly in gullies and ravines where the overlying red sands have 
been eroded. 


LOCAL DETAILS 
COLUMBIA COUNTY 

Grovetown .—Grovetown is located on the Georgia Railroad 15 
miles west of Augusta. Fullers earth and clay of the Congaree clay 
member of the McBean formation are exposed at a number of places 
in this vicinity. 

Section at the old fullers earth mine. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red, pebbly sand. 5+ 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

2. Fullers earth, gray or drab, laminated; contains bits of 

wood and has fine sand partings and pockets .... 10-12 
Lower Cretaceous 

1. White clay, full thickness not exposed. 4+ 


The fullers earth is also exposed in the cut at the railroad station, 
where there is four feet of fullers earth overlain by 10 feet of red, 
pebbly sand. It is probable that both the clay and sand belong to the 
Claiborne group. There is apparently a very slight unconformity 
between the sand and clay. In the first cut south of the station there 
is an exposure of 20 feet of sand which- evidently overlies the fullers 
earth, and belongs to the Barnwell sand. 

About one-quarter mile west of Forest, casts of fossils are abund¬ 
ant, in an aluminous sandstone. Underneath the fossil layer is a 
thin, shaly bed resembling the fullers earth at Grovetown, and at a 
still lower level there is a prominent exposure of arkose or kaolinic 




270 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


sandstone of Lower Cretaceous age. This locality has been visited by 
Prof. G. D. Harris 1 of Cornell University, who noted oyster frag¬ 
ments and a species of Modiola, but no definite horizon for the strata 
was given. 

About three-quarters of a mile west of Forest on the old Fiske 
place there is a yellow, ochreous, shaly earth, which contains casts 
of fossils, and is evidently the equivalent of the Grovetown fullers 
earth, and belongs to the Congaree clay member. This is overlain 
by red, pebbly sands. 

In a gully on the Phinizy land, on the Augusta and Wrightsboro 
public road, about one mile east of Grovetown, a laminated fullers 
earth fills an erosion hollow in the Cretaceous. The locality is nota¬ 
ble for the clear-cut exposure of the unconformable relations of the 
two formations. The fullers earth contains impressions of leaves, 
stems, and palms, the determination of which may be of considerable 
stratigraphic interest. 

The fossils recorded in the following list were determined by Dr. 
Y aughan from a collection made by Prof. McCallie, in the Fiske 
clay pit: 

Fossils from Fislces clay pit. 

Nucula magnifica Conrad Turbinella (Psilocochlis) mccalliai 

Nucula ovula Lea Dali 

Leda 2 sp. Ostrea 

Balanus sp. Modiolus texanus Gabb 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 

Lignite and lignitic clay belonging to the Claiborne group appear 
at the lignite pit of the Georgia Lignite Mining Company, three miles 
south of Grovetown. 


Section of Lignite pit. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

12. Beginning at top. Grayish or brownish incoherent 

sand.3 or 4 

11. Red, coarse, quartz sand.8 to 10 

10. Laminated clay layer. 2 

9. Coarse, angular, yellow quartz sand; contains limonite 

fragments, in places small gravel. '15 

8. Red, brown, and purplish crossbedded sand; scattered 
small pebbles; some thin clay layers a few inches 
thick; uneven contact between this sand and the un¬ 
derlying lignitic clay. 35 


McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

7. Pink and white, plastic clay, partly removed by 


erosion. 1 

6. Lignite. 2 

5. Drab, clay, some lignitic material. 2 


mull. Amer. Paleontology No. 6, Dec. 8, 1902, p. 7. 











McBEAN FORMATIOX 


271 


Feet. 


4. Lignite; large lignitized logs. 4 

3. Drab clay. 1 

2. Lignite.1 

1. Lignitic clay. 2 


The lignite and lignitic clays were penetrated in a nearby shaft, 
and were found to have a thickness (reported) of 15 feet. Coarse, 
quartz sand conatining white clay, evidently Lower Cretaceous, 
unlerlies the lignitic beds. The similarity of the sections leaves no 
doubt that the lignite and lignitic clay are the equivalent of the full¬ 
ers earth at Grovetown. The sand in the section represents a shore" 
ward aspect of the Barnwell sand. 

This locality was described by Lewis 1 in 1880 who regarded the 
formation as contemporaneous with the Brandon formation of Ver¬ 
mont and Pennsylvania. As Professor Knowlton has, from a study 
of the fossil flora at Brandon, concluded that the age of that deposit 
is probably Miocene, Lewis’s correlation is known to be erroneous. 

_ Harlem. —The succession of beds and the character of the strata 
in this vicinity are essentially the same as at Grovetown and vicinity. 

The following section is revealed at the plant of the Georgia Vitri¬ 
fied Brick & Clay Company, one and a half miles east of Harlem: 

Section at plant of Georgia Vitrified Brick and Clay Company. 


Eocene. Feet. 

Barnwell sand. 

7. Red and yellow, highly ferruginous sand; contains 
siliceous limonite fragments, covered with a thin 

veneer of gray sand. 25 

6. Yellow sand, pebbly; fragments of silicified wood ... 8 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member) 

5. Yellow and white sandy clay. 5 

4. White, massive, sandy clay; contains bits of carbonized 

leaves and wood. 7 

3. Black, carbonaceous, jointed clay. 4 

2. Concealed, a few feet. ? 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Massive, indurated, white clay, having the lithologic 

aspect of the Cretaceous white clay. 12 


Section at Phillip's Falls, one and one-half miles southwest of 

Harlem. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. At top of section, red sand. 10 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

4. Bluish and gray, laminated fullers earth, fragments of 

plant remains.20 to 30 

3. Sandy clay, evidence of fossil plants but no well pre¬ 
served forms were found. 3 


1 Clark, W. B.. Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 83, p. 94. 
















272 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


2. Massive bed of gray to bluish gray indurated clay; 

not laminated. 10 

1. Coarse, quartz sand, containing large chunks of white 

clay .... . .. 10 


A small exposure of lignite and dark lignitic clay also occurs along 
a small stream on the south side of the railroad, on the old Lucky 
place, about three-quarters of a mile from the station at Harlem. 
This is overlain by 12 feet or more of fullers earth and red and yellow 
limonitic sand. 


JEFFERSON COUNTY 

Wrens .—A peculiar clay stone, together with a shaly, aluminous 
sandstone, was found at R. R. Hatcher’s mill on Reedy Creek, five 
miles north of Wrens. The shaly sandstone contains fragments of 
lignitized wood and stem and leaf impressions. The hard clay is 
bluish-white in color, compact, breaks with a conchoidal or angular 
fracture, and is almost entirely free from sand. A chemical analysis 
shows the proportion of silica (65.21 per cent.) to alumina (21.62 
ner cent.) to be much greater than that of the hard white clays of the 
Cretaceous. The clays here are overlain by red, pebbly sand repre¬ 
senting the Barnwell sand. 

At Patterson’s Bridge on Briar Creek, six miles north of Matthews, 
there is 10 feet of sandy, laminated fullers earth, with which is 
associated some silicified clay similar to that at Hatcher’s Mill. A 
short distance south of the bridge there is an outcrop of quartzite con¬ 
taining fossils. The exact relations of this.quartzite to the fullers 
earth could not be determined, but it is inferred that it lies above the x 
fullers earth. 

At Wrens old mill, two miles south of Wrens, about 25 feet of 
sandstone and quartzite appears. This rock contains oyster shells 
that could not be specifically identified. On the road between Wrens 
and Matthews outcrops of vitreous quartzite and laminated clays were 
noted. These outcrops probably belong to the Congaree clay mem* 
ber. 


GLASCOCK COUNTY 

Gibson .—There are a number of good exposures of the Claiborne 
group in the vicinity of Gibson. The group lies unconformably 
upon the Lower Cretaceous and is divisible into two formations, as- 
indicated in the following section; 




GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XX. 



A. FULLERS EARTH IN CONGAREE CLAY MEMBER OF McBEAN FORMATION, 
PIT OF GENERAL REDUCTION COMPANY, TWELVE MILES SOUTHEAST 
OF MACON, IN TWIGGS COUNTY. 



B. 


■'UT OF MACON. DUBLIN & SAVANNAH RAILROAD. PIKES PEAK STATION, 
TWIGGS COUNTY, SHOWING CONGAREE CLAY MEMBER OF 
McBEAN FORMATION. 









McBEAN FORMATION 


273 


Section at the J . Newsome property, three miles east of Gibson. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

6. Red, crossbedded sand capping the hill. 30 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

5. Massive, drab, and greenish clay. 20 

4. Soft, fossiliferous limestone -.. 5 

3. Calcareous sandy clay. 5 

2. Sand, containing large pellets of white clay. 15 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White clay or kaolin. 6_f_ 


An instructive exposure appears along the Gibson-Mitchell road 
at Jumping Gully Creek, one mile west of Gibson. 

Section at Jumping Gully Creek. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. At the top of the hill, fine, red, argillaceous sand . . . 10_|_ 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

4. Gray laminated clay, somewhat in the nature of fullers 

earth. 10 

3. Laminated, sandy,, clay , containing thin limonitic, 
crusts; very fossiliferous. Fills narrow “V” shaped 
erosion gullies in the underlying white clay .... 3 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. White clay. 10 

1. Talus to level of creek. 


From bed FT. 3 the Claiborne fossils, Flabellum cuneiforme, Tur- 
ritella carinata, and Mesalia vetusta have been collected. 

Prof. McCallie collected fossils at the English plantation, 
one and one-half miles north of Gibson. These have been identified 
by Dr. Vaughan, who furnishes the following list and annotation: 


Fossils, from the English plantation. 


Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale 
Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 
Mazzalina inaurata Conrad 
Turritella carinata 
Pecten wilcoxii Dali ? 

Pteria sp. (the internal mould of a 
rather large species) 


Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 
Lucina sp. 

Panopaea aff. oblonga Conrad 
Cytherea sp. 


“The matrix is a light gray, in some instances blotched yellow, indu¬ 
rated sandstone, some pieces considerably silicified. 

“The fauna is Claibornian but whether upper or lower could not be 
determined from the fossils submitted.” 


Good exposures appear in road cuttings and gullies south and 
southwest of Gibson. 











274 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

Section at Tompkins Ford on Grange road, four miles south of 

' Gibson. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

6. At top of hill, red sand. 

5. Sandstone or quartzite containing fossils. 

4. Red sand, fine-grained, and argillaceous. 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

3. Massive, stiff, tenacious, greenish or drab clay; massive 
surface aspect may be due to weathering. 

Lower Cretaceous. . 

2. White, massive, semi-indurated clay, distinguished from 

that above by its much greater purity. 

1. Soft clay and sand conglomerate. 


Feet. 

10 

4 

15 


30 


15 


WASHINGTON COUNTY 

Sandersville. —Limestone occurs near Sandersville, which will be 
discussed later. A considerable thickness of clay and sand is exposed 
north and west of Sandersville, while at Sandersville and southward 
limestone and calcareous strata occur. 

The following section was observed along the upper Milledgeville 
road on the descent to Keg Creek, six miles west of Sandersville. 


Section six miles west of Sandersville. 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

4. At top of the hill, bright, red sand, hardened at the sur¬ 
face by iron oxide cement. Fresh exposures show 
yellow and red, coarse, unconsolidated sand .... 

3. Red sand, containing gray, waxy, clay laminae. The 
clay is in layers often not more than one-half or one 

inch thick. 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member.) 

2. Gray, greenish or drab clay, tough and waxy where 
weathered; fresh exposure laminated in the nature 
of fullers earth; apparent gradation between this 

and the overlying sand. 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Hard, massive, white fireclay. 


Feet. 


60 

20 


45 

16 


Sand and clay, which can be correlated with that in the foregoing 
section, appears in a deep gully to the north of the Milledgeville road, 
four and one-half miles west of Sandersville. 

Section four and one-half miles west of Sandersville. 

_ ' ' T7<^r,4- 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

5. Red sand at top of gully. 

4. Lighter colored sand. 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

3. Laminated, fullers earth-like clay, becomes sandy at 
top, and there is an apparent gradation between 3 
and 4. 


15 

10 

20 














McBEAN FORMATION 


275 


2. Marl layer, a fossiliferous, bluish mud, and in places a 

bed of comminuted shells (Claiborne fossils) .... 3 

1. Bluish mudstone. 15 

At the Carter Mill site, four and one-half miles north of San- 
dersville, the following succession of beds was observed: 

Section five and one-half miles north of Sandersville. 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

4. Red sand, contains a siliceous, fossiliferous rock . . . 

3. Coarse quartz pebble conglomerate, a few feet in thick¬ 

ness . 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

2. Laminated clay and argillaceous sand, the latter prob¬ 

ably reworked Cretaceous. 

Lower Creta'ceous. 

1. Massive, white, fire clay. 


One mile north of this locality the following succession was ob¬ 
served in the hill on the public road: 

Section six and one-half miles north of Sandersville. 

Eocene. Feet. 

5. Red sand, in places large, well rounded quartz pebbles ] 

4. Red sand, thin beds of greenish laminated clay . . | 40 to 50 

3, Coarse red sand.J 

Cretaceous. 

2. White massive fire clay.) , 

1. Typical Cretaceous sand.j 

In a well at Thena, eight miles west of Warthen, 50 feet of lami¬ 
nated, shaly clay, in the nature of fullers earth and containing casts 
of fossils, was encountered in a well. The underlying Cretaceous is 
exposed in the valley of Keg Creek a short distance east, and the up¬ 
land is covered with the red Barnwell sand and gray surficial sand. 

' A section of a hill on the road to Hebron, seven miles southwest of 
Sandersville shows: 

Section seven miles southwest of Sandersville. 

Feet. 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

3. At the top, fine red sand apparently conformable on No. 

2. 10 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

2. Greenish and drab, massive and laminated clay .... 80 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White clay. 4 

There appears to be a gradation between 2 and 3 where the sand 
is superimposed; both clay and sand are in contact with the Creta¬ 
ceous in exposures west of this locality. 











276 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

Chalker. —Exposures along the public road, one-half mile south 
of Chalker, show at the top of the hill, 30 feet of fine, red sand, be¬ 
coming more argillaceous at the base, and 50 feet of laminated, sandy 
clay (Congaree clay member) overlying white and yellow sands of 
the Cretaceous. 

In the railroad cut, one mile south of Chalker, a thin-bedded, alum¬ 
inous sandstone two or three feet thick, at the base of the Tertiary, 
overlies a white clay bed of the Cretaceous. 

From a cut two miles southwest of Chalker, Prof. McCallie 
collected fossils from a sandstone that directly overlies white clay of 
the Cretaceous. These fossils have been identified by Dr. Vaughan, 
who furnishes the following list: 

Fossils from two miles southeast of Chalker. 

Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) 

Cucullaearca cuculloides (Conrad) Venericardia 

Cerithium ,2 sp. both apparently Ostrea georgiana Conrad-? 

new Cytherea 

Turritella carinata Lea Corbula alabamiensis Lea 

WILKINSON COUNTY 

Gordon. —A number of good exposures of Tertiary and Cretaceous 
beds occur in this vicinity. A section made along the public road on 
the Ezell or W. S. Smith place, one and one-half miles south of Gor¬ 
don shows: 

Section one and one-half miles south of Gordon. 


Eocene. * eet< 

Barnwell sand. 

5. At the top of the hill, dark, red sand with small quartz 

pebbles. 40 

4. Red, orange, and brown sand, contains thin, greenish 

clay layers about an inch in thickness. 15 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

3. Greenish or drab clay, containing casts of fossils; in 
places white, siliceous concretions. The clay is mas¬ 
sive, where weathered, but in fresh exposures is 
bedded and resembles fullers earth. 50 

2. Bluish sandy clay with red splotches, due to weathering 10 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White, massive-bedded clay. 12 


The same general succession prevails southward in numerous gul¬ 
lies and road cuts. At a few localities the red sands at the surface 
seem to overlie the greenish and drab clays uncontormahly, but 
most of these are not true erosion unconformities hut are due to 
“creep” of the red sands down hill slopes. 

At Balks Churchy about eight miles south of Gordon, a deeply 
eroded gully on a hillside shows: 






McBEAN FORMATION 


277 


Section in gully at Ball’s Church. 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Top of hill, dark, red sand. Becomes more argillaceous 

at the base. 70 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

2. Drab, laminated clay layers, with sand partings. Clay 
porous, low specific gravity, and in the nature of 

fullers earth. 50 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Massive white' clay. 5_f_ 

Prof. McCallie lias furnished a description of a section two 
miles west of Gordon, on the Gordon-Macon public road, as follows: 

Section two miles west of Gordon on public road. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. \ Feet. 

9. Stratified, red, sandy clays, upper part massive .... 10 

7. Yellowish, stratified sands. 6 

6. Thin-bedded, tough, drab colored clays. 10 

5. Thin-bedded, reddish sands with clay partings .... 3 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member) 

4. Fullers earth (?) with fossils. 15 

3. Fine, orange-colored sand. '4 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. White clay (kaolin) massive. 4 


1. Massive, micaceous, sandy clay, base of section .... 
Fossils from stratum ISTo. 4 were identified by Dr. Vaughan. 


Fossils from Stratum No. 4- 


Platytrochus stokesi (Lea) 

Plejona petrosa (Conrad) 

Nucula ovulia Lea 
Leda bella 
Leda sp. ? 

Leda sp. 

Lewiston. —Ladd 1 2 gives the 
Lewiston: 


Tagelus sp. 

Diplodonta (Sphraerella) aff. inflata 
Lea 

Miltha aff. claibornensis (Con.) 
Cytherea sp. 


following section in a clay pit at 


Section in clay pit at Lewiston. 


Eocene. 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member) Feet. 

5. Red and yellow, clayey sand, with seams of laminated 
clay; also thin seams of brown iron ore, containing 
* many coarse pebbles. 6 


1 These fossils do not furnish sufficiently definite information to determine the 
horizon within the Claiborne.—T. W. V. 

2 Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 6-A, p. 113. 












278 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet. 

• 4. Irregular siliceous beds, resembling quartzite, and con¬ 
taining drusy quartz cavities and many fragments 

of shells. 4 

3. White sand, free from iron stain, cross-bedded in places, 
containing mica and kaolin, and also nodules or 
fragments of white clay, in the upper surfaces of 
which are sharply outlined pear-shaped cavities, each 
filled with a yellowish clay. These cavities vary in 

diameter from one-quarter to one inch. 7 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. White, gritless clay, or kaolin. 2 

1. White sand. 2 

The white clay is probably Cretaceous; characteristic Claiborne 
fossils occur in the quarzite at this locality. 

Prof. McCallie has collected fossils on the farm of J. W. Huckabee, 
one and one-half miles west of Lewiston, which have been identified 
by Dr. Vaughan as follows: 


Fossils from farm of J. W. HucJcabee. 


“Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 
Turbinella sp. 

Turritella carinata Lea 
Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) 
Nucula ovula Lea 


Venericardia planicosta Lamarck 
Crassatellites protextus (Conrad) 
Corbula oniscus Conrad 
Corbula alabamiensis Lea 


“Although this is clearly a Claiborne fauna the precise horizon within 
the Claiborne is indefinite.” 


TWIGGS COUNTY 

Pikes Peak station .—Three-quarters of a mile west of Pike Peaks 
Station, in the Dry Branch region, the formation is more argillaceous 
than in the foregoing sections, being represented by a heavy bed of 
fullers earth. Fossils identified from this locality are Nucula aff. 
ovula, Ostrea georgiana, Crassatelliles protextus. 

Section at General Reduction Company's fullers earth mine. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red and white sand. 10 

2. Greenish and drab, waxy and tough clay, only 

laminated, locally known as “gum”. 6 to 10 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

1. Heavy-bedded fullers earth. 15 


No unconformities occur in this pit. In an abandoned pit a sim¬ 
ilar succession appears: 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red and white sand, contains thin layers of fossil- 

iferous sandstone . 15 

2. Greenish, waxy, faintly laminated clay, “gum” 
from 2 or 3 to 10 or 12 feet in thickness .... 

(Apparent unconformity) 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

1. Heavy-bedded fullers earth 


10 to 25 











McBEAN FORMATION 


279 


The fullers earth is a drab or olive color when, moist, becoming 
almost white when dry. The beds or layers are from a few inches 
to two or three feet in thickness, and are separated by fine, micaceous 
sandy partings. The fullers earth itself is sandy and contains cir¬ 
cular or lenticular pockets of gray sand reaching two or three inches in 
their greatest dimensions. The earth is soft, unctuous, very porous, 
and of low specific gravity; it is minutely jointed and the joint 
cracks are filled with limonitic coatings or show thin black scales of 
manganese dioxide. 

The following section appears in the railroad cut at the overhead 
wagon bridge a short distance southeast of the fullers earth mill: 

Section in railroad cut near Pikes Peak Station. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. In. 

8. Red sand. 4 

7. Red and white sand. 6 

6. Greenish clay . 5 

5. Drab fullers earth clay, thin layered sand partings 8 

4. Yellow sand . 0 2 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member.) 

3. Heavy bedded, jointed earth. 6 

2. Gray, fossiliferous sand. 4 

1. Talus. 4 


In the first cut beyond the overhead bridge and near Pikes Peak 
station, a striking unconformity appears between red sand and fullers 
earth-like clay. The cut shows 10 feet of fine, red sand mantling 
25 feet of bedded and jointed fullers earth and clay. The full sig¬ 
nificance of this unconformity is not known; however, it is believed 
that the red sand belongs to the Claiborne group. 

JONES COUNTY 

Roberts Station. —Bluish, fossiliferous mud and thinbedded clay 
in the nature of fullers earth occur in a cut on the Georgia Railroad 
one mile east of Roberts. This locality was studied by Prof. G 
, D. Harris, 1 who referred the strata to the “Woods Bluff” (Bashi) 
beds of the “Lignitic” (Wilcox). Dr. Vaughan has identified a 
large number of species from this locality, a greater number than i& 

American Paleontology, Bull. No. 16, 1902, p. 4. 










280 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


given by Professor Harris, which shows the Claiborne (not Wilcox) 
age of the beds. There is also lithologic similarity to the Claiborne 
sections at other nearby localities. This clay represents the Congaree 
clay member of the McBean formation, and the sand probably the 
Barnwell sand of the Claiborne group. 

Section in cut one mile east of Roberts. 


Eocene 

Barnwell sand (?) Feet. 

6. Beginning at top, loose red sand, contains a few 

scattered quartz pebbles, no fossils observed . 8 to 10 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member.) 

5. Greenish and drab laminated sandy clay, porous 

and of low specific gravity. 12 

4. Laminated, sandy clay containing white calca¬ 
reous nodules and casts of fossils. 8 

3. Bluish, fosiliferous mud. 8 

Crystalline basement rock. 

2. Concealed a few feet. ? 

1. Crystaline, igneous rock. — 


The igneous rock does not appear in the deep cut, but outcrops 
in the next cut east. There is no evidence of an unconformity be¬ 
tween the red sand and the clay. The red sand, Ho. 6, was traced 
north from the cut as far as Slocumb on the Central of Georgia Bail¬ 
way. It contains fragmentary beds of quartzite in which are com¬ 
minuted shells, and since these have no appearance of having been 
transported there is little doubt about its Eocene age. In the cut 
about one-quarter of a mile east of the “shale” cut, the red sand, 
(at the base interbedded sand and clay) is in contact with a decom¬ 
posed granite and a diabase dike, the latter having a width of about 
100 feet. There is no evidence that the dike was intruded in the 
Tertiary strata. 

In the first cut west of Koberts, red sand, containing small fossil- 
iferous, quartzite fragments, appears. In the second cut west, what 
is probably red Claiborne sand uncomformably overlies gray, mica¬ 
ceous, kaolinic sand of the Cretaceous. 

Dr. Vaughan has tabulated the fossils collected in the cut one mile 
east of Boberts. Collections have been made by G. D. Harris, S. W. 
McCallie, Earle Sloan, and T. W. Vaughan. The initials above the 
columns indicate the collectors. 







McBEAN FORMATION 


281 


Table of fossils from cut on Georgia railroad, one mile east of Rob¬ 
erts, Jones County. 


NAME OF SPECIES 

G. D. H. 

S. W. M. 

E. s, 

T. W. V. 

Endopachys maclurii (Lea) . . . 



x 

Cylichna sp. 


X 


Plejona petrosa (Conrad) .... 

X 

X 

X 

Clavelithes sp. ... 


x 


Mazzalina sp. ... 



x 

Fusus (Levifusus) trabeatus Conrad 



X 

Chrysodomus striatus ?. 

X 



Pseudoliva vetusta (Conrad) . 



X 

Turritella apita de Greg . . . 


X 


Turritella nasuta Gabb .... 



X 

Turritella clevelandia Harris . . 

X 



Turritella carinata Lea. 


X 


Turritella arenicola Conrad. 



X 

Natica semilunata Lea .... 


X 

X 

Calyptrea aperta (Sol.). 


X 


Adeorbis sp. 


X 


Nucula ovula Lea. 

X 

X 

X 

Yoldia aldrichiana. 

X 



Yoldia aff. psammotaea Dali. 


X 


Leda aff. albirupiana Harris. 


X 

X 

Leda plicata Lea. 



X 

Trigonarca sp. 


X 


Trigonarca sp.. 



X 

Glycymeris staminea (Conrad). 



X 

Glycymeris trigonella (Conrad). 


X 

X 

Cucullaea macrodonta Whitfield. 



X 

Ostrea alabamiensis Lea. 



X 

Pteria limula (Conrad). 



X 

Pecten wilcoxii Dali . 



X 

Amusium sp. 


X 


Modiolus alabamensis Aldrich. 


X 


Periploma sp. 

X 


X 

Venericardia planicosta Lamarck. 

X 

X 

X 

Protocardia lenis. 

X 



Lucina papyracea Lea. 


X 


Lucina cf. pandata Conrad. 

X 



Lucina claibornensis Conrad. 


X 

X 

Cytherea var. nuttalliopsis Heilprin. 

X 



Cytherea texacola Harris. 



X 

Cytherea subimpressa Conrad. 



X 

Psammobia ozarkana Harris. 

X 



Psammobia blainvillei Lea ?. 


X 

* 

Psammobia papyria Conrad ?. 


X 


Spisula parilis (Conrad). 



X 

Corbula oniscus Conrad. 


X 

X 

Corbula alabamiensis Lea. 


X 

X 






























































282 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

Dr. Vaughan states: “Of the specimens collected by Professor 
McCallie, Mr. Sloan and myself, only Cucullcea macrodonta and 
Cytherea subimpressa suggest Wilcox age; however, the horizon is 
low in the Claiborne, probably the very base, as indicated by Turri- 
tella nasuta, Pecten wilcoxii, etc., and their overlapping with two 
species usually not ranging above the Wilcox.” 

Griswoldmlle. —The red sand which appears at Roberts (see sec¬ 
tion, page 280) can be traced, covering the ridge, three miles south to 
the cuts on the Central of Georgia Railway, one and a quarter miles 
west of Griswoldville. Here the red, argillaceous sands fill erosion 
gullies in Cretaceous beds. About three-quarters of a mile south of 
these cuts there is a notable exposure of quartzite full of casts and 
silicified shells. This rock has the appearance of having been origi¬ 
nally a calcareous sand. It lies near the base of the Claiborne and is 
100 feet or more below the tops of the high ridges which are made up 
of red, argillaceous sand. The quartzite is probably only a local de¬ 
posit. The hard rock here is provisionally considered a part of the 
Congaree clay member. 

Prof. G. D. Harris 1 has made the following notes: 

“About a year ago, while on our way to take charge of geological work in 
Louisiana, we collected at some fine fossiliferous localities of this horizon in 
the vicinity of Griswold, and heard of several others in the same general 
region, but had no time to inspect them. This outcrop is in a V-shaped val¬ 
ley about two miles south of Griswold, or about 10 miles east of Macon. The 
lower Claiborne rock consists of a hard bed of the typical “buhrstone” of 
former geological works, about 10 feet in thickness, replete with fossil 
remains. In less indurated, or in sandy seams, and just below the main 
bed many fine specimens of silicified shells were collected. Sandy beds were 
noted below the above mentioned hard layer for a distance of 40 feet. Above 
and between this outcrop and the station, red sandy hills rise to the height 
of 140 feet above the fossiliferous bed or above the station, the latter two 
points being upon about the same level. Near the station were noted red sands 
mottled with white clay. One mile west of Griswold extensive white clay 
deposits were found along the line of the railway leading to Macon.” 

Prof. McCallie has collected fossils on the property of J. R. 
Van Buren and Company, one and one-half miles west of Griswold¬ 
ville, which Dr. Vaughan has identified as follows: 

Fossils from J. R. Van Buren Company’s property. 

“Platytrochus stokesi (Lea) Dentalium aff. blandum de Greg. 

Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale Nucula ovula Lea 

Turbinolia pharetra Lea Nucula magnifica Lea 

Endopachys maclurii (Lea) Crassatellites protextus (Conrad) 

Turbinella sp. ■ Phacoides cariniferus (Conrad) 

Plejona sp. Protocardia sp. 

Levifusus trabeatus Conrad Corbula alabamiensis Lea 

Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) ? Panopea sp. 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 


American Paleontology, Bull. No. 16, 1902. 



ZIcBEAN FORMATION 


283 


. T J ie species obtained at this locality are not sufficiently restricted in 
belongs’’ lgraP ^ 1C range ^ ec ^ e where in the Claiborne group the exposure 


BIBB COUNTY 

Macon. Both the Congaree clay member and Barnwell sand ap¬ 
pear in gullies 10 miles southeast of Macon, near the eastern bound- 
ary of Bibb County. Prof. McCallie furnishes the following sec¬ 
tion : & 

Section in Macon-Marion 'public road, ten miles southeast of Macon . 


McBean formation, (Congaree clay member). 

7. Red clays .. 5 

6 . Porous, cream-colored clay with fossil leaves and 

bivalves. 

5. Clay filled with bivalves. | 1 5 

4. Same as No. 6 , with no fossils, but containing sand 

partings. g 

3. Same as No. 6 . 10 

2 . Fossiliferous sandstone and chert ........ . . *. 10 

1 . Crossbedded sands and white clays. 30 


Fossils from this locality are Nucula ovula, Diplodonta, Crassatel - 
lites protextus , and several species of fossil leaves.* 

Exposures of fullers earth and sand appear in large gullies on the 
John Tharpe estate near the public road. The following section 
was made at or near the same locality as the preceding section: 

Section in gullies on Tharpe estate. 


Feet. 

Barnwell sand. 

11. Fine, red sand. 50 

McBean formation, (Congaree clay member). 

10. Thick-bedded, fullers earth, partly concealed by the 

“creep” of the overlying red sand. 15 

9. Alternating thin layers of clay and fine sand. 10 

8 . Heavy-bedded fullers earth. 5 

7. Fullers earth, sand partings. 15 

6 . Thick layered, jointed fullers earth. 5 

5. Interval concealed.] 

4. Thin layers of clay, sand partings.L 20 

3.. Thick layers, sandy.J 

2. Concealed interval of a few feet. ? 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White clay and sand. 


The fullers earth contains casts of fossils, leaf impressions, and 
bits of lignitic wood. 

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OE MCBEAN FORMATION 

The Congaree member contains beds of fullers earth at several 
calities between Grovetown and Ocmulgee Biver, which should 




















284 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


prove to be of considerable economic value. A bed of fullers earth 
is at present being mined near Pike’s Peak station, Twiggs County, 
by the General Reduction Company, and some development work 
was done several years ago on the Fiske property at Grovetown. 
The better quality of the fullers earth of this formation possesses ex¬ 
cellent clarifying properties, fully equal to or superior to those of 
the English earth. In the tests which have been made it has not 
proved equal to the English earth for clarifying culinary oils, but it 
should prove suitable for other uses to which fullers earth is put. 
The McBean fullers earth occurs in enormous quantities, the beds 
in places reaching a thickness of as much as 50 feet. 

McBean marls occur in abundance in the bluffs of Savannah 
and Chattahoochee rivers, and at localities in Burke, Jefferson and 
Washington counties. The marls, in addition to lime, contain small 
amounts of phosphoric acid and potash, and on certain soils and un¬ 
der certain conditions should be of local value as a land fertilizer. 

Lime has in the past been manufactured from a shell bed near 
Griffin’s Landing, Savannah River, Burke County; near Sunhill, 
Washington County, and near Bond’s Store, Bibb County. How¬ 
ever, under present industrial conditions, lime manufacture as a per¬ 
manent industry would not be profitable in this region, on account of 
the high price of fuel, unfavorable quarrying condition, the general 
softness of the rock, and the presence of- a high precentage of sand 
and clay impurities. However, it is suggested that where lime is 
desired for local agricultural purposes, the limestone and marl might 
be advantageously used at several localities. In this case expensive 
kilns and equipment would be unnecessary. 

The Congaree clay members of the formation contains clay 
.of some commercial value. Plastic clay from this member is being 
utilized, mixed with other clays, in the manufacture of sewerpipe and 
fire clay products, near Harlem, Columbia County, and at Stevens 
Pottery, Baldwin County. 

A deposit of lignite and lignitic clay occurs three miles south of 
Grovetown (see page 270), and has been developed in a small way. 
The lignite is in thin beds, interbedded with dark colored or lignitic 
clay; the combined thickness exposed in a prospect pit is 12 feet. Al¬ 
though a large number of nearby exposures of strata have been exam¬ 
ined, no evidence of any considerable amount of lignite has been 
found. It is believed that the area underlain by the lignite is very 
small, and that it is not in sufficient quantity to be an important 
source of fuel, although this particular deposit may possibly have a 
small local value. A small amount of the lignite and lignitic clay 
has been mined and sold as a filler for commercial fertilizers. 


BARNWELL SAND 


285 


BARNWELL SAND 

NAME 

Mr. Earle Sloan has used the name Barnwell “buhr sands” or 
Barnwell “nhase” for red, ferruginous sands that immediately over¬ 
lie the McBean formation, as defined in this report. The type area 
of the Barnwell sand is in Barnwell County, S. C., where its strati¬ 
graphic position is as stated. Sloan, who has also studied the area 
in Georgia adjacent to Savannah River, states that the Barnwell 
“phase” is represented by the sands that overlie the fossiliferous 
marls of Shell Bluff. As there are sands of lower stratigraphic posi¬ 
tion but very similar in appearance to the Barnwell, Sloan, in several 
instances, confused the lower horizon with his Barnwell. A notable 
instance of this confusion is seen in his referring to the Barnwell the 
fossiliferous sands near Hixon’s bridge on Tinker’s Creek . 1 2 The ho¬ 
rizon of the fossils of this exposure is far down in the McBean forma¬ 
tion. However, it is evident that Sloan intended this name to apply 
to the red, ferruginous sands of the upper horizon and not to those 
of the lower. He has orally given the information that he has found 
Turritella carinata Lea in the Barnwell sand in Barnwell County,. 
S. C., and he is positive in his opinion that in the type area there is 
similarity in stratigraphic position, and in both lithologic and faunal 
characters with the fossiliferous, red, ferruginous sands overlying the 
McBean formation in Burke County, Ga. 

DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic relations .—The Barnwell sand directly overlies the 
McBean formation and is in contact with both the marls and the Con- 
garee clay member of the latter formation. The nature of the con¬ 
tact separating the Barnwell sand from the McBean formation has 
not been satisfactorily determined. There is evidence, however, that 
along the northern margin of the Barnwell sand area the relation is 
that of unconformity,—the unconformity being of local and not of 
regional extent. Farther southward the Barnwell sand seems to over- 
lie the McBean formation conformably. The probable explanation 
of this discordance of relationship in different parts of the area is 
that after the deposition of the clays and marls of the McBean forma¬ 
tion there was an uplift of the region causing the shore line of the 
Claiborne sea to recede southward a short distance, permitting eros- 

1 Handbook of South Carolina, pp. 86, 90: Department of Agriculture. Commerce and 
Immigration, Columbia, S. C., 1907. 

Catalogue of the Mineral Localities of South Carolina, pp. 449, 460 ; South Carolina 
Geol. Survey, 1908. 

Catalogue of the Mineral Localities of South Carolina, pp. 268, 460. 



286 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


ion in the emerged area, followed, after a relatively short period, by re¬ 
submergence and a renewal of deposition over the entire Claiborne 
area. 

The Barnwell sand is overlain by the Jackson formation but at no 
place has the exact contact between the two been observed; for this 
reason the nature of the contact is imperfectly known. There is 
some evidence in favor of a faunal and lithologic gradation, and on 
the other hand, a suggestion of unconformity (see page 296). 

In Burke and Screven counties the formation is overlapped by the 
Vicksburg formation, and questionably by the upper Oligocene 
(Chattahoochee and Alum Bluff formations). In the eastern part 
of the State the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation probably origi¬ 
nally covered a large part of it, as there are now two prominent ex¬ 
tensions of the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) at Tennille and Waynesboro. 
The Barnwell sand is in places covered with a small thickness of sur- 
ficial gray sand of problematic origin, and by Pleistocene terrace de¬ 
posits along the rivers. 

Lithologic characters. —The Barnwell sand consists largely of un¬ 
consolidated red and vari-colored sands, but there are also thin layers 
of sandstone, quartzite, silicified limestone or flint, and thin layers 
of siliceous limonite, embedded in the sands. The sands, especially 
where weathered, have a somewhat similar appearance to the red, 
residual sands of the Vicksburg formation, which seem to be in con¬ 
tact with it in the southeastern part of Burke County, and, where 
fossils are absent, it is difficult to discriminate between the two. 

The flint and quartzite contain casts and siliceous replacements of 
fossils and good collections have been obtained at several localities. 
The sand itself is poorly fossiliferous, containing only imperfect casts 
and moulds of fossils and fragments of silicified wood. 

Thickness. —The maximum measured thickness of the Barnwejl 
sand is 105 feet, this thickness being observed on Storm Branch be¬ 
low Cox Spring, about two miles northeast of Shell Bluff postoffice; 
therefore, the formation in places reaches a maximum thickness of 
over 100 feet. 

Paleontologic characters. —Among the common fossils of the Barn¬ 
well sand are: Mortonia, Mesalia vetusta (Conrad), Turritella cari- 
nata Lea, Glycymeris staminea (Conrad), Crassaltellites protextus 
var. lepidus Dali,- Venericardia alticostata (Conrad), Cytherea per- 
ovata Conrad, Spisula praetenuis (Conrad), etc. The best collection 
of fossils from a single locality is that from Old Town, seven and 
one-half miles southeast of the present site of Louisville. A list of 
the species is given on page 292. 


BARNWELL SAND 


287 


Areal distribution .—The Barnwell sand of the Claiborne group is 
practically co-incident in its distribution with that of the Claiborne 
group as a whole. The formation overlies both the marls and the 
clays of the McBean formation and extends to the Fall Line. It is 
present over parts of the following counties: Columbia, Richmond, 
Burke, McDuffie, Jefferson, Glascock, Washington, Hancock, Wilkin¬ 
son, Baldwin, Twiggs, Jones, and Bibb. Ho evidence was found in¬ 
dicating that the fossiliferous red sands in the southern part are later 
m a ge and superimposed upon the sands which near the Fall Line 
overlie the Congaree clay member and fullers earth. It is probable 
that red sands between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers belong to this 
formation but as yet no positive statement can be made. The sand 
forms the conspicious red soils of the Claiborne group and lends char¬ 
acter to this area of the Coastal Plain. 

This, formation is particularly well developed in Burke County, 1 
where it contains fossiliferous flint and appears at the surface as a 
dark red, ferruginous sand. It is also well developed over other 
counties to the west. 

Physiographic expression. —The Barnwell sand has been an impor* 
tant factor in determining the character of the topography in the re¬ 
gion of its occurrence. The greater part of the area is hilly and 
broken, since the friable sands and soft clays of the formation have 
yielded readily to erosion. In Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington 
counties, valleys have been cut 150 to 200 feet below the level of the 
ridges and small plateaus, and the hills are often furrowed by deep 
gullies and ravines. In Burke and Jefferson counties there are flat 
plains in which lim^sinks occur, due to the collapse of solution cavi¬ 
ties in the underlying McBean formation. 

Structure. —The bedding planes of the Barnwell sand have been 
largely obscured as the result of the chemical changes which have 
taken place in the materials. For this reason it has been impossible 
to obtain accurate dip observations. However, there is doubtless a 
low dip of the beds to the southward or southeastward, probably not 
exceeding 10 or 15 feet to the mile. 

LOCAL DETAILS 
BUKKE COUNTY 

Storm Branch and Cox Spring .—Marl containing Ostrea georgiana 
and belonging to the McBean formation, was found on Storm Branch 
below Cox Spring, and one and three-quarters to two miles northeast 
of Shell Bluff post-office. Typical Barnwell sand overlies the marl 
at this locality. 

1 Note by Doctor Vaughan : These sands over most of Burke County are the equiva¬ 
lent or approximately the equivalent of the Gosport greensand of Alabama. 



288 


GEOLOGY • OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


A section three-quarters of a mile below Cox Spring shows the fol¬ 
lowing : 

Section three-quarters of a mile below Cox Spring. 


Feet. 


Barnwell sand. 

4. Red sand containing a few thin layers of flint. 85 

McBean formation. 

3. Argillaceous, sandy marl; contact with the above sand 
obscured. This layer contains Caricella, Pseudoliva 
vetusta, Crassatellites protextus (?), Cytherea. 

Thickness exposed. 

2. Soft, white, sandy marl containing Ostrea georgiana . 3 

1. Concealed to the swamp level. 2 

At Cox Spring fossils were collected from thin flint layers in red 
sand, which are 8 to 10 feet higher than the marl bed No. 2 of the 
preceding section. The fossils identified are: Platytrochus stolcesi 
(Lea), Turritella carinata Lea, Mesalia sp., Astarte sp. 



Barnwell sand. 
10. Red sand 


15+ 


9. Red sand containing fragmental layers of flint and 

quartzite, a few indeterminable fossils. 4 ? 

8. Red sand. 8 

7. Sand with very thin layers of drab clay. 5 

McBean formation. 

6. Soft, argillaceous marl and clay; fossils Crepidula, 
probably lirata, Calyptrea aperta, Nucula, Modiolus 

Crassatellites probably protextus . 3 

5. Hard marl, a few large oyster shells. 4 

4. Soft, sandy marl and clay. 3 

3. Bed of large Ostrea georgiana . 3 

2. Soft, calcareous, sandy clay. 11 

1. Concealed to level of swamp. 2 

The localities are one and one-half miles southwest of the marl 
exposure in Cox ravine described by Dr. Vaughan, (see page 242). 

The red sand with flint layers reaches a thickness of over 100 feet 
in this part of Burke County. 

Waynesboro. — Fossiliferous flint of the Barnwell sand occurs in 
the railroad cut two miles north of Waynesboro. 

Section in railroad cut two miles north of Waynesboro. • 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red soil and limonite fragments. 3 

2. Fossiliferous, sandy flint in red residual clay. 6 

1. Argillaceous, coarse, quartz sand. 7 

















BARNWELL SAND 


289 


Characteristic Claborne fossils have been identified from this lo¬ 
cality. 

At Rocky Creek church, five miles west of Waynesboro, there is an 
exposure of 15 feet of fossiliferous flint overlain bv red argillaceous 
sand. Dr. Vaughan collected at this locality Turritella cari- 
nata (Lea), Glycymeris staminea (Conrad), Crassatellites protexus 
var. lepidus Dali, and Cytherea perovata Conrad. Residual frag¬ 
ments or boulders of flint are common south of this locality, and 
were noted to a point on the Midville road nine miles southwest of 
Waynesboro. 

A siliceous or sandy chert layer, five feet thick, embedded in bright 
red, pebbly sand occurs on the Shell Bluff road on the west side of 
Briar Creek, three miles northeast of Waynesboro. Between the 
five and six mile-posts on the same road, residual flint fragments con¬ 
taining Mortonia, Turritella , etc., appear over the surface. 

Dr. Vaughan has determined Claiborne fossils from residual 
flint in red sand at Thompson’s bridge over Briar Creek, nine miles 
east, and at Dr. Steiner’s farm five miles southwest of Waynes¬ 
boro. These exposures and the red sand at McBean belong to the 
Barnwell sand. 

Midville. —Flint rock is exposed at the Jones Mill site (also known 
as Burton Mill) five miles north of Midville. There is an exposure, 
six feet in thickness consisting of both porous and tripoli-like flint, 
jasper, and chalcedony. It contains poorly preserved fossils,— Tur- 
ntella carinata and Crassatellites protexus have been identified. The 
surface north of Midville is a red, residual sand covered with a thin 
veneer of gray sand. The Midville flint is correlated with that in 
the vicinity of Waynesboro. 

Boyd Farm. —At a point about four and one-half miles west of 
Hancock Landing, Savannah River, beds of flint were found in the 
red sand formation, and fossils were collected from it. This 
locality is at a spring on the Percy Boyd farm, about three and one- 
half miles southwest of Shell Bluff postoffice. The stratum lies at 
least 20 to 30 feet higher than the Ostrea georgiana bed, which was 
found on the edge of the swamp of Newberry Creek, about three- 
quarters of a mile southwest. 

List of fossils near spring on Percy Boyd's farm, three and one-half 
miles southeast of Shell Bluff postoffice. 

Turbinolia pharetra Lea Leptothyra sp. 

Mortonia Dentalium thalloides Conrad 

Turritella carinata Lea Glycymeris 

Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) Venericardia parva Lea 

Lunatia vicksburgensis (Conrad) Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) 


290 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The sand and flint at this locality are characteristic, of the Barn¬ 
well sand. 

Stony Bluff, Savannah River .—No exposures of consequence ap¬ 
pear between Limekiln Blufl and Stony Bluff, a distance of 14 miles 
by the river. At Ellison’s Landing, there is a swamp bluff lying 
about 150 yards back from the river, hut the exposures are poor and 
only red sand and white sandstone or quartzite is exposed. There 
is a lithologic change in the character of the strata, the marls ap¬ 
parently having dipped beneath the level of the river. The rock at 
Stony Bluff, which is about 25 feet high, consists of ledges and resid¬ 
ual, scattered fragments of brittle, translucent, opaline flint and sand¬ 
stone or quartzite embedded in coarse, red sand. 

Section at Stony Bluff. 

Age ? # Feet. 

6. Gray sand covering a gradual ascent to higher land . 

5. Red sand; scattered flint fragments; small amount of 

quartz gravel. 30 

Barnwell sand. 

4. Quartzite layer. 1*5 

3. Red sand, small quartz pebbles. 1 

2. Sandstone, or quartzite. 5 

1. Red or brownish argillaceous sand, sandstone fragments 

near the river level. 15 

Only a few poorly preserved fossils were noted in the flint. On 

the basis of lithologic similiarity the strata here are correlated with 
the flinty Barnwell sand in the vicinity of Waynesboro and else¬ 
where. Its geographic position also suggests the likelihood of its 
being the equivalent of the red sands in the upper parts of the bluffs 
from Shell Bluff southward. 

• 

RICHMOND COUNTY 

Hephzibah .—Hephzibah is in a direct line, 12 miles southeast of 
Grovetown. The Congaree clay member of ihe McBean formation 
is here observed in contact with the white clays and coarse sands of 
the Lower Cretaceous. The fullers earth and clay at Grovetown are 
here represented by a small thickness of aluminous, shaly sandstone, 
containing leaf impressions and thin-layered, brittle, vitreous quartz¬ 
ite, which contains fossils. The overlying material is red sand and 
represents the Barnwell sand. An excellent exposure appears in 
the clay pits of the Albion Clay Company one mile west of Hephzi- 
bah. 

Berzelia .—A section of a hill on Sandy Run Creek, four miles 
south of Berzelia, on the farm of H. Merry, near his residence, shows 
the following; 







BARNWELL SAND 


291 


Section on farm of H. Merry. 


Barnwell sand. 

6 . At the top, gray sand covering the surface; some small 

pebbles. 3 

4. Red, white, and purplish sands containing small pebbles 

in places. 80 

McBean formation, (Congaree clay member). 

3. Hard, bluish-gray claystone; massive, breaks with con- 

choidal fracture, and has the appearance of being 

silicified fullers earth. 15 

Lower Cretaceous. 

2. Hard, white clay. 10 

1. Talus of clay and sand. 


Division No. 3 represents a new aspect of the fullers earth. A 
similar silicified clay occupying the same stratigraphic position was 
found a few miles to the south. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY 

Louisville. —The following section was made along the Clark’s 
Mill road three and one-half miles northwest of Louisville: 

Section along Clark's Mill Road. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

5. At top of hill, red sand, no pebbles. 25 

4. Siliceous, “rotten” limestone, contains Scutella, Turri- 

tella, and other fossils. 7 

3. Red quartz sand. 25 

2. Limestone fragments in sand which appear to have 

been transported. 1 

1. Red sand. 15 

There is an exposure of fossiliferous sandstone and quartzite at 
Clark’s Mill, seven miles northwest of Louisville. 

Section at Clark's Mill. 


Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red sand, similar to that covering the upland under¬ 
lain by the Claiborne group. 

2. Gray sandstone and vitreous quartzite, containing frag¬ 
ments of shells, varies from 2 or 3 feet to. 8 

1. Red sand. 5 


Along the road from Louisville to Spread red sand at the surface 
is continuous, hut in places is covered with a thin coat of gray sand 
of probable residual origin. Fragments of sandstone appear at a 
number of places. Northwest of Louisville evidence of lime sinks 
may be seen in the plain. 















292 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The following notes and list of fossils has been supplied by Dr. 
Vaughan: 

Considerable collections of fossils have been made at Old Town, seven 
and a half miles southeast of the present site of Louisville, by Prof. S. W. 
McCallie, Earle Sloan, and myself. 


List of fossils from Old Town, seven and one-half miles southeast of 

Louisville. 


Mortonia sp. 

Caricella pryuloides Conrad 
Turritella carinata Lea 
Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) 
Calyptrea aperta (Sol.) 
Glycymeris staminea (Conrad) 
Glycymeris idonea (Conrad) 
Glycymeris n. sp. 


Crassatellites protextus var. lepidus 
Dali 

Crassatellites n. sp. 

Venericardia alticostata Conrad 
Cytherea perovata Conrad 
Spisula praetenuis (Conrad) 
Corbula densata Conrad 
Lunulites distans Lonsdale 


“The fauna is upper Claiborne. Lunulites distans is an* important fossil 
for correlation purposes, as its range is from the upper Claiborne (i. e. above 
the Pteropsis lapidosa zone) into the Jackson. Therefore, when found in 
association with such Claiborne species as Turritella carinata, Venericardia 
alticostata, etc., the horizon in the .Claiborne group is definitely given. 


Wadley. —Flint fragments containing fossils are exposed at the 
bridge of the Wadley Southern Railroad, three-quarters of a mile 
south of Wadley. These fragments are overlain by 15 feet of red 
sand, and a short distance southward the typical Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette ?) formation appears. 

Dr. Vaughan furnishes the following note and list: 

“Professor McCallie obtained from the Central of Georgia Railway well 
at Wadley, at a depth of 30 feet, the following fossils: 


Fossils from 

Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale 
Platytrochus stokesi (Lea) 
Endopachys maclurii (Lea) 

Mesalia vetusta (Conrad) 

Calyptrea aperta (Sol.) 

Nucula ovula Lea 


well at Wadley. 

Leda multilineata Conrad 
Cytherea perovata Conrad 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 
Corbula densata Conrad 
Lunulites distans Lonsdale 


“The geologic horizon is upper Claiborne.” 

In the southeastern part of the county, flint, both porous and com¬ 
pact or vitreous, containing fossils and evidently a replacement of 
limestone, appears at a number of places in beds and residual frag¬ 
ments. Fossils, characteristic of the Claiborne group, have been 
identified from the flint outcrops. The beds belong to the Barnwell 
sand. 


BAR :" ELL SAND 


293 


WILKINSON- COUNTY 


The Claiborne group in Wilkinson County consists mainly of 
sands, clays, and local patches of limestone, resting unconformably 
upon the Lower Cretaceous. The strata reach a maximum thickness 
of 150 to 200 feet. The general succession of beds is as follows: 

General section of the Claiborne group in Wilkinson County. 


Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

3. Red and yellow, highly ferruginous sands, argilla¬ 
ceous and pebbly in places, which cap the 

ridges and hills (approximately). 10-100 

McBean formation, (Congaree clay member). 

2. Massive and laminated, drab and greenish clays, 

and local beds limestone (approximately) . . 10-75 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous. 


1. Thick, white, clay beds and coarse kaolinic sand . . . 

McIntyre. —There are a number of exposures north of McIntyre 
where the Barnwell sand lies in contact with the kaolin beds of the 
Cretaceous, the laminated, impure, fullers-earth clays not being so ex¬ 
tensively developed as in the vicinity of Gordon. The basal sands 
are usually coarse, crossbedded, and contain balls and angular chunks 
of the Cretaceous white clays. 

Section of hill, one and one-half miles north of the 159 th mile¬ 
post of the Central of Georgia Railway, and one quarter of a mile east 
of J. j R. Honeycutt's house. 

Eocene. Feet. 

Barnwell sand. 

6. At the top of hill; gray structureless sand. 6 

5. Red and yellow, argillaceous sand. 45 

4. White, laminated clay with sand partings. 6 

3. Red and yellow, coarse, crossbeddel sand, contains large 
chunks of white clay, evidently torn from the under¬ 
lying Lower Cretaceous beds. 20 

2. Concealed a few feet. ? 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Bauxite and white and stained clay. 20_f_ 

TWIGGS COUNTY 

The red and vari-colored sands which are conspicuous as cappings 
on the ridges in the northern part of Twiggs County, are believed to 
belong for the most part to the Barnwell sand. 

Dry Branch clay mines. —Good exposures of the Claiborne group, 
showing its relations to the Cretaceous, occur at the clay mines 
southeast of Dry Branch. 









294 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section in old pit at the mines of the American Clay Company. 

Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. Feet. 

6. Red sand, may reach a thickness of 40 or 50 feet, thick¬ 
ness in pit. 10 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

5. Greenish, laminated clay layer. 

4. Red quartz sand. 8 

3. Layer of pisolitic clay boulders and pebbles. Clay 
veined with halloysite and has the appearance of 

bauxite. 2 

2. Red and white coarse quartz sand containing dissemi¬ 
nated clay with delicate casts of fossils. 6 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. Massive bed of white and cream-colored clay. 18 


Section in one of the pits of the Atlanta Mining and Clay Company. 
Eocene. 

Barnwell sand. 

9. Red sand, seen to the top of the ridge, 60 or 70 feet 


above. 3 

McBean formation (Congaree clay member). 

8. Greenish, tough, waxy clay. 4 

7. Fine-grained, red sand. 5 

6. Dark, greenish clay layer . .. 1 

5. Red micaceous sand. 5 

4. Yellow ochreous sand. 3 

3. Sand containing white clay pebbles.* 3 

2. Fine, white kaolinic, crossbedded sand. 8 

(Unconformity) 

Lower Cretaceous. 

1. White, massive clay bed and arkosic sand. 12_j_ 


Jeffersonville. —Bright red sand is conspicuous on the higher land 
in the vicinity of Jeffersonville and Fitzpatrick, hut this sand be¬ 
comes yellow and lighter colored in fresh exposures. The red sands 
become argillaceous in depth and are underlain in places by heavy 
beds of fullers earth-like clays. 

The following section was made from exposures in a deep gully 
on the TI. W. McCrary farm, two miles northeast of Jeffersonville: 


Section in gully two miles northeast of Jeffersonville. 


Barnwell sand. 

13. Red sand, attains much greater thickness and is 
seen on the slopes to the top of the ridge . . . 

12. Yellow quartz sand. 

11. Red and yellow, tough and waxy, laminated clay 

with sand partings. 

10. Alternating thin layers of white sand and yellow 

clay. 

9. Yellow clay. 


Feet. 


10 

10 

4 

3 

0 


In. 


2 




















BARNWELL SAND 


295 


Feet. 

8 . White sand. 0 

7. Yellow clay. 0 

6. White sand. 0 

5. Greenish clay. 0 

4. Yellow argillaceous sand. 2 

3. Layer of sand and comminuted shells in places 

consolidated into sandstone. 1 

2. Yellow clay and sand. 2 


1. Fine-grained, laminated clay with sand partings . 4 


In. 

4 
3 
6 

5 


6 


Prof. McCallie collected fossils from this locality which were 
identified by Dr. Vaughan as follows: Turbinella ( Psilocochlis ) 
mccalliei 3 Dali, Buccinanops altile (Conrad), Mesaiia vetusta (Con¬ 
rad), Cytherea discoidalis Conrad, Venericardia planicosta Lam. 
Corbula alabamiensis Lea. 

The whole section at McCrary gully is provisionally referred to 
the Barnwell sand. 


BIBB COUNTY 


Browns Mountain. —Prof. McCallie collected from a sandy 
chert at this locality, a number of fossils which were identified by 
Dr. Vaughan as follows: 

Fossils from Brown's Mountain. 


Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale 
Endopacys maclurii (Lea) 

Mortonia sp. 

Calyptraphorus velatus Conrad 
Turritella carinata Lea 
Mesaiia vetusta (Conrad) 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 

Nucula ovula Lea 
Pteria sp. 

Pecten wahtubbeanus Dali 
Crassatllites protextus var. lepidus 


Astarte smithvillensis Harris 
Venericardia alticostata (Conrad) 
Phacoides cariniferus (Conrad) 
Phacoides alveatus (Conrad) 
Ptrotocardia nicolleti Conrad t 

Cytherea perovata Conrad 
Cytherea, 2 sp. 

Psammobia sp. 

Panopaea porrectoides Aid. 

Corbula oniscus Conrad 


Dali 

The summit of the hill is about 180 feet above the adjacent Pleis¬ 
tocene terrace of Ocmulgee River. The lower 110 feet consists of 
gray and white crossbedded sand, and thin white clay layers of Lower 
Cretaceous age. The upper Y0 feet of the exposure has fossiliferous 
chert and sandstone at the base, while the upper slopes are red, argil- 


laceous sand. 

Prof. McCallie gives the following notes: 

Section of Browns Mountain , nine miles southeast of Macon. 


Barnwell sand. 

4. Reddish, sandy clays. . ... • • • 
3. Yellowish, white clay, fossiliferous . 

2 . Sandy fossiliferous chert.. 

1. Clay resembling No. 3, but no fossils 


10 ? 
20 ? 
25 ? 













296 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“The thickness of the diflerent strata here given is only approximate^ 
there being no point at which both the upper and lower layers are exposed.” 

It is believed that the strata of the Claiborne group at this locality 
belong to the Barnwell sand. 

JACKSON FORMATION 
NAME 

The type locality of the Jackson formation is Jackson, Miss. 
From the study of a large number of fossils collected at this locality 
Conrad 1 2 concluded that the strata were paleontologically peculiar and 
gave the name Jackson to the formation. In Alabama' the forma¬ 
tion is included in the St. Stephens limestone or “White Limestone” 
series, which comprises the Jackson and Vicksburg formations, as 
they could not be lithologically differentiated and had not been pale¬ 
ontologically studied. 

Brief mention of this formation in Georgia has been made by S. 
W. McCallie 3 and Otto Veatch 4 including it as a part of the “Vicks¬ 
burg-Jackson,” without differentiating it from the Vicksburg. 

DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic relations .—The formation represents the uppermost 
Eocene exposed in Georgia, and its stratigraphic position is between 
the Vicksburg formation above and the Claiborne group below. The 
line of division between the Jackson and the Claiborne has not been 
accurately located, and it can not be stated with certainty whether or 
not their deposition was continuous or interrupted. The two forma¬ 
tions are similar lithologically. According to the evidence of the 
fossils, beds referable to the Jackson formation occur near the mines 
of the Georgia Kaolin Company in Twiggs County. Its existence 
at this locality can be explained only on the theory of deformation 
by faulting or folding or by an overlap and an erosion unconformity. 
Paleontologic evidence has also furnished grounds for the belief that 
an unconformity may exist between the two formations south of 
Perry in Houston County, (see pages 258-260). Ho unconformity, 
however, has thus far been observed in the field. 

In Mississippi the Claiborne and Jackson groups seem to 
he closely related. Mr. A. F. Crider 5 states that “even where the 
formations have been best studied there seems to be a gradation in 
both the fossils and the stratigraphy from the upper Claiborne to the 

mroc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. 7, 1855, pp. 257-263. 

2 Smith, Johnson, and Langdon, Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain : Geol. 
Survey of Alabama, 1894, pp. 107, 108. 

Underground waters of Georgia: Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 15, 1908, p. 33. 

4 Clay deposits of Georgia: Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 18, 1909, p. 75. 

8 Crider, A. F., Geology and Mineral Resources of Mississippi: Bull. S. S. Geol. 
Survey No. 283, pp. 33, 34. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXI 



A. EXPOSURE OF LIMESTONE OF THE JACKSON FORMATION IN A QUARRY 
NEAR THE GEORGIA. SOUTHERN & FLORIDA RAILWAY", ONE AND 
ONE-HALF MILES SOUTH OF TIVOLA, HOUSTON COUNTY. 



B. 


EXPOSURE OF LIMESTONE OF THE JACKSON FORMATION IN A GULLY 
AT RICH HILL, FIVE MILES SOUTHEAST OF ROBERTA, 
CRAWFORD COUNTY. 




































/ 

















































































































































JACKSON FORMATION 


297 


lower Jackson.” In Alabama, the Jackson has not been described as 
a separate formation, and very little specific information as to its 
relations with the Claiborne has been published. From the descrip¬ 
tion jpven in the “Report on the geology of the Coastal Plain of Ala¬ 
bama published in 1894 by the Alabama Geological Survey, it is 
evident that the two are closely related lithologically and faunally, 
and in sections where both are exposed no mention is made of un- 
conformable relations. 

Where the Jackson and the Vicksburg formations have been ob¬ 
served in the same section in Georgia there is no evidence of an un¬ 
conformity or break in the deposition of the strata. 

The Jackson at Rich Hill, five miles southeast of Roberta, Craw¬ 
ford County, rests directly upon Lower Cretaceous strata, and ma¬ 
rine deposits at this locality indicate that the Jackson formation 
originally extended much farther northward than at present and 
suggests that the formation may have even lapped over the crys¬ 
talline rocks of the Piedmont Plain. 

Lithologic characters and thickness .—The formation consists of 
white or cream-colored, massive-bedded limestones, thin beds of marl 
and calcareous, glauconitic, and sandy, laminated clays. The lime¬ 
stones are highly fossiliferous in places consisting almost entirely oi 
a friable mass of Bryozoa and shells. Southward from Perry there 
is a considerable thickness of loose red and yellow quartz sand and 
clay, the stratigraphic position of which has not yet been fixed, but 
which may belong in part to the Jackson formation. Silicification 
of the limestone was noted one-half mile north of Bonaire, and also 
south of Perry, Houston County. 

The thickness of the Jackson formation can not be determined 
with accuracy, mainly on account of uncertainty as to the location of 
the line of division between it and the Claiborne group. The forma¬ 
tion has a low dip southward; the wddth of the outcrop is only a few 
miles, so that the total thickness probably does not exceed* 150 feet. 
There is an exposed thickness of about 75 feet at Rich Hill, and 
about the same thickness south of Perry, not including the sands un¬ 
derlying the fossiliferous strata. 

Paleontologic characters .—The limestones of the formation are 
highly fossiliferous, but the clays and sands only sparingly so. As 
in Mississippi and Louisiana, the formation in Georgia seems to mark 
the upper limit of Venericardia planicosta. In places, Bryozoa 
make up the greater part of the rock, this being especially true of the 


1 Pages 111, 128, 381, 383. 



29S 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


occurrences at Rich Hill, Crawford County, at Ross Hill, three and 
a quarter miles south of Perry, and at other localities. Of the IA 
species which have been determined from the Jackson formation in 
Georgia, but six are common to the overlying Vicksburg formation. 
The whale-like mammal, Zeuglodon (Basilosaurus) , is a character¬ 
istic fossil of the Jackson, and some fragments of its remains have 
been found in Georgia. As in the Vicksburg formation, Pecten and 
Orbitoides, are abundant; the species Pecten perplanus, Pecten nup- 
erus, and Orbitoides mantelli, appear in both formations. Ail of the 
fossils which have been identified from the Jackson formation are 
given on succeeding pages. 

Areal distribution.— The area underlain by the formation, so far 
as known, is small. The largest area is in Houston, Twiggs, and 
Pulaski counties. There is an isolated area at Rich Hill, Crawford 
County, and on Chattahoochee River near Alaga, Ala., there is a 
probable small occurrence which is mentioned by Langdon. Un 
Oconee River the strata exposed at Wring Jaw Landing, Johnson 
County, are referred to the Jackson by Dr. Vaughan. Further 
detailed work may reveal occurrences east of the Oconee. Lvidence 
of the Jackson between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers has been 
found at only one locality, namely, on Ichawaynochaway Creek, 
one and one-half miles below Cordray Mill, Calhoun County. If 
it is present to any considerable extent as a surface formation it has 
not been distinguished from the strata of the Vicksburg formation 
and the Claiborne group. 


Physiographic expression. —The limestone member of the formar 
tion has produced a prominent scarp on the south side of Indian and 
Mill Creeks in Houston County. Kich Hill, in Crawforw County, is 
a conspicuous topographic feature due to the greater resistance to 
erosion of the limestone and clays of the formation than that exerted 
by the Cretaceous sands and clays. A few limesinks occur north o 
Bonaire. 


Structure. —The formation has a low dip southward. Visual evi¬ 
dence of folding was not noted in field work. However, in order to 
explain the conditions (see page 260) four and one-half miles south 
of Perry, either a fold or fault in the strata or an erosion unconfor¬ 
mity between the Jackson formation and the Claiborne group is 


necessary. 

Economic geology.—The limestones of the Jackson formation 
south of Perry and south of Tivola, Houston County, could be used 

iReport on the Coastal Plain of Alabama: Geol. Survey of Alabama. 1894, p. 383. 



JACKSON FORMATION 


29£ 


in the manufacture of lime or for road metal. The chief objec¬ 
tion to the stone as a road metal is its softness; however, if used 
in conjunction with the flint rock, which also occurs in this part of 
the State, it should make a fair road-surfacing material. The bryo- 
zoan, friable limestones or marls, together with some glauconitic lay- 
ers, mentioned in succeeding pages, should be of some local value as 
fertilizers, but up to the present they have not been so utilized. 

LOCAL DETAILS 
CALHOUN COUNTY 

Cordray Mill ,—The Jackson formation doubtless underlies the 
Vicksburg formation between Flint and Chattahoochee rivers, but an 
exposure has been found at only one locality. Probable Jackson oc¬ 
curs in the left bank of Ichawaynochway Creek, at Bateman “Ham¬ 
mock,” one and one-half miles below Cordray Mill, 12 miles east 
of Edison. 


Section at Bateman “Hammock” 


Jackson formation. Feet. 

3. Red sand. 10 

2. Hard, white sandy limestone; contains a Pecten, 

probably P. perplanus Bryozoa, and a large oyster . 3 

McBean formation. 

1. Aluminous sand and sandstone, slightly calcareous; 

Ostrea divaricata . 1 


CRAWFORD COUNTY 

Rich Hill .—One of the most interesting localities of the Jackson 
formation is at Rich Hill, five miles southeast of Roberta. The hill 
rises about 150 feet above the small valley on the south side, and is a 
conspicuous topographic feature. This 'is an isolated exposure and 
indicates that the northward extension of the formation was formerly 
much greater than at present. The hill is capped by brilliant red 
sand, probably referable to the Jackson formation, overlying the calca¬ 
reous beds undoubtedly belonging to the Jackson formation; the latter 
rests upon white clays and sands of the Lower Cretaceous. The hill 
is deeply trenched by erosion gullies in which the strata are laid 
bare. The following section was made from the exposures in the 
gullies on the south side: 

Section at Rich Hill. 


Eocene 

Jackson formation ? Feet. In. 

13. Brilliant red sand capping the hill and forming 

“creep” on the upper slopes. 30 





300 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Jackson formation. 

12. Purplish and yellow sand, containing thin clay 
laminae. ••••••/•• 

11. Greenish, laminated clay, thin lignitic partings . 

10. Plastic, calcareous clay with fossils.. . 

9. Drab, jointed laminated clay, with sand partings 
8. Fossiliferous nodular calcareous layer ..... 
7. Drab, soft, laminated clay with fossils; contains 

nodular, calcareous layers. 

6. Limestone, generally soft and friable but in 
places hard and compact; in places it is a 
bryozoan marl so soft that it may be scraped 
up with the hands. Fossils chiefly Bryozoa, 
Pecten perplanus, and Mortonia sp.; fish teeth 

are also abundant in places.. . • 

5. Brown and yellow unconsolidated sand which in 

places is replaced by limestone. 

Lower Cretaceous. 

4. White, micaceous clay; maximum. 

3. White, crossbedded clayey sand. 

2. White micaceous clay. 

1. Coarse, white sand. 


Feet. 

12 

4 

0 

6 

0 

12 


20 

12 

10 

10 

3 

10 


In. 


6 

12 


List of fossils from Rich Hill. 


(Identified by T. W. Vaughan.) 

Mortonia sp. « Lucina sp., found also five and one- 

Plejona sp. half miles south of Perry. 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) Panopaea sp. 

Ostrea georgiana Conrad (The Mortonia referred to above is 

Pecten perplanus Morton also found at Castle Hayne and 

Pecten (probably P. nuperus Conrad)Wilmington, N. C., and nine miles east 
young and poor specimen. of Waynesboro, Burke Oo., Ga.) 

Yenericardia sp. 


HOUSTON COUNTY 


Bonaire. — A small exposure of limestone appears in the railroad 
cut one-quarter of a mile north of the station. The rock is very 
similar to that at the quarry south of Tivola described on a subse¬ 
quent page. From this locality the following fossils 1 have been iden¬ 
tified : 


List of fossils from one mile north of Bonaire. 

Mortonia sp. 

Caricella sp. 

Turritella sp. 

Pecten perplanus Morton 
Cytherea 

Basilosaurus sp., probably B. macrospondylus (Harlan) 

Residual boulders of both limestone and flint cap a hill one and 
one-half miles north of Bonaire, near the railroad. This is probably 
the northern limit of the Jackson formation, for to the northward 


mull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 15, p. 351. 












JACKSON FORMATION 


301 


Oj this place there is a decided change in the character of the mater¬ 
ials, and at V ellston there is an exposure having the characteristic, 
appearance of the Cretaceous. 

Perry. Very good sections of the Jackson formation occur in the 
escarpment on the south side of Flat Creek and Mill Creek, at Ross 
Hill three miles south of Perry, and on the Perry Henderson road, 
five miles southwest of Perry. The section of the northern slope of 
Ross Hill, along the public road, is as follows: 

Section at Ross Hill 


Oligocene. 

Vicksburg formation. 

11. Flint fragments in red, clayey soil. 10 

Eocene. 

Jackson formation. 

10. Soft, fossiliferous limestone or marl. 4 

9. Largely concealed, but probably an argillaceous marl 

or calcareous clay. 12 

8. Limestone and marl. 4 

7. Laminated, fine-grained, drab clay; contains small 

friable, calcite nodules. 15 

6. Ash-colored, friable marl, made up of fragments of 

Bryozoa, pectens, echinoderms, etc. 5 

5. Soft, fossiliferous limestone, more compact than the 

above layer. 4 

4. Yellow and ash-colored, fossiliferous marl. 6 

3. Hard, compact limestone. 6 

2. Massive soft, fossiliferops limestone; contains charac¬ 
teristic Jackson fossils. 15 

1. Greenish, fine-grained, laminated clay. 10 


A collection of fossils was made at this locality by Prof. McCallie 
and identified by Dr. Vaughan as follows: 

List of Fossils from the Jackson Formation south of Perry 

Locality.—Perry-Elko public road, three and one-quarter miles southeast 

of Perry. 


Plejona petrosa (Conrad) 
Fusoficula cf. filia (Meyer) 
Turritella sp. 

Calyptrea aperta (Solander) 
Dentalium thalloides Conrad 
Nucula ovula Lea 
Leda multilineata Conrad 


Leda sp. 

Glycymeris sp. 

Pecten perplanus Morton 
Pecten cf. nuperus Conrad 
Venericardia cf. rotunda Lea 
Cytherea, 2 sp. 

Spisula cf. funerata Conrad 


At the same locality Veatch collected the following fossils from 
the limestone in the lower part of the hill: 

Orbitoides 
Mortonia sp. 

Protocardia nicoletti Conrad 













GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


•o02 


Along the road between this hill and Perry only vari-colored, un¬ 
consolidated sands appear. These sands evidently underlie the cal¬ 
careous strata of the Jackson formation but their age has not been 
definitely ascertained. They probably belong either to the Jack- 
son formation or to the Claiborne group. 

Section five miles southwest of Perry along Perry -Henderson pub¬ 
lic road. 


Oligocene. J 

Vicksburg formation. 

13. Top of hill, red, argillaceous sand; character¬ 
istic appearance of the residual sand of the 

Vicksburg. 

12. Residual flint and “rotten” limestone; contains 
fossils.. 


Eocene. 

Jackson formation. 

11. Red, sandy clay, containing quartzite nodules . . 

10. Gray, laminated, shaly clay, in the nature of 

fullers earth. 

9. Glauconite layer. 

8. Black clay. 

7. Glauconite layer.. • • • 

6. Gray and drab, calcareous clay; contains soft 

nodules of white calcite. 

5. Limestone layer, very hard. 

4. White, soft, argillaceous limestone and ash- 

colored friable marl. 

3. Strata concealed, probably limestone or calcareous 

clay. 

2. Red and greenish, stiff, plastic, sandy clay; con¬ 
tains fossiliferous flint fragments. 

1. Red, unconsolidated sand to level of Mill Creek; 
contains fragments of silicified wood, but 
no other fossils. 


15 

6 

2 

0 

0 

10 

0 

3 

10 

10 


25 


In. 


3 

12 

6 


Characteristic Jackson fossils have been identified from this local¬ 
ity. In proceeding north from Mill Creek to Myrtle, only vari-col¬ 
ored sands are exposed. Stratigraphically these sands lie beneath 
the Jackson formation. They may belong in part to the Jackson 
formation, but are more probably referable to the Claiborne group 
and Midwav formation. Prom the preceding section Dr. Vaughan 
has identified the following fossils: 


Fossils 1 from Perry-Henderson road, five and a quarter miles south 

of Perry 

Flabellum cuneiforme i^onsdale 
Endopachys sp. 

Turritella 

Leda multilineata Conrad 


Collection made by S. W. McCallie, Bull. 15, Geol. Surv. Ga., p. 351. 















JACKSON FORMATION 


303 


Leda, very large species, cf. pharcida Dali, but apparently new. 
Lucina sp., also found in the clay bed at Rich Hill 
Protocardia nicoletti Conrad 
Corbula, apparently wailesiaha Harris 


Tivola. A good section of the formation is exposed at the old 
quarry on the east side of the Georgia Southern & Florida Railroad, 
one and one-half miles south of Tivola. 


Section at Georgia Southern & Florida quarry 

Oligocene. Feet. 

Vicksburg formation. 

16. Flint layers and fragments in red, argillaceous 
sand; strata partly concealed and actual con¬ 
tact with lower beds not seen; flint fossili- 
ferous. 

Eocene. 

Jackson formation. 

15. Greenish, laminated clay; contains calcareous 


concretions and thin sandstone layers .... 5 

14. Argillaceous limestone. 0 

13. Drab clay. 2 

12. Indurated, calcareous clay. . 0 

11. Plastic, drab, laminated clay. 4 

10. Hard, calcareous layer. 0 

9. Greenish or drab, laminated clay. 4 

8. Sandstone. 0 

7. Yellow, laminated, calcareous clay. 4 

6. Hard limestone . .. 0 

5. Soft limestone, contains fossils. 0 

4. Hard limestone, no fossils. 0 

3. Laminated clay.. 4 


2. Massive bedded, white and cream colored, highly 
fossilliferous limestone; contains Bryozoa pec- 
tens, Orbitoides, echinoids, a rather large 
oyster, and sharks’ teeth; fragments of large 
bones are reported to have been found .... 25 

1. Stratum partly concealed, but probably a calca¬ 
reous clay. ? 


In. 


5 

6 
6 

3 

3 

6 

12 

12 


Stratum Ho. 16 has every appearance of the residual Vicksburg 
formation from which fossils have been identified a short distance 
south of this locality. The limestone is, on the whole, soft, but 
there is some hard rock which seems to be due to crystallization of 
the calcium carbonate. It is very fossiliferous, being made up en¬ 
tirely of organic remains; parts of the beds resemble the friable marl 
at Rich Hill; the section is, on the whole, similar to that at Ross Hill, 
three and one-half miles south of Perry. The rock here has been 
quarried for road metal. Horthward from the quarry only sand is 
exposed. This is a red, fine-grained quartz sand with occasional 
thin, impure, clay layers; no fossils could be found but this sand does 
not appear to he of Pleistocene age or a surficial formation, and prob¬ 
ably belongs to the Jackson formation. 
















304 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The limestone again appears in a railroad cut two miles south of 
Tivola. A calcareous clay, probably a part of this formation, was 
noted a short distance east of Kathleen. 


TWIGGS COUNTY 


Near Dry Branch. —According to Dr. Vaughan the evidence of 
the fossils shows that Jackson strata occur near the mines of the Geor¬ 
gia Kaolin Company, two miles southeast of Dry Branch. There is. 
an exposure of 15 feet of 'soft, white, argillaceous marl in a small 
ravine one-half mile southeast of the clay-working plant, which con¬ 
tains Bryozoa and other fossils, and is similar lithologicallv to the 
marl at Rich Hill. It lies 10 to 15 feet above the white clay beds 
of the Cretaceous, and is overlain by 125 feet of bluish or drab, lami¬ 
nated, sandy clay and red sand, the clay containing thin slabs of quart¬ 
zite or sandstone. In this vicinity Claiborne fossiliferous strata occur 
at both higher and lower levels than this marl, and the presence of 
Jackson beds in this position implies either a deep erosion uncon¬ 
formity between the two formations, or a flexure. Exposures in 
this vicinity, so far as they have been examined, afforded no evi¬ 
dence either of an unconformity, or of any faulting or folding of the 
beds. Further detailed field work is necessary to solve this problem 
of stratigraphy. 

List of fossils from ravine one-half mile southeast of the mines of 
the Georgia Kaolin Company, identified by T. Wayland 
Vaughan. 


Platytrochus stokesi (Lea) 
Mortonia 

Leda multilineata Conrad 
Pecten perplanus Morton 


Protocardia 

Tellina 

Corbula densata Conrad 
Bryozoa (very numerous) 


Westlake. —On the old McRae plantatioji at a point about three 
and one-half miles northeast of Westlake, is an exposure of limestone 
that has the lithologic appearance of the Jackson formation. The 
soil at this particular locality is a tough clay with a much ranker 
vegetation than the higher sandy land. The rock is exposed at a few 
places, is highly fossiliferous, and has much the appearance of the 
limestone south of Tivola and Perry. However, Amusium ocalanum 
has been found here and this fossil suggests a higher horizon. 

About four and one-half miles northeast of Westlake, on the Jeffer' 
sonville road, about 20 or 25 feet of calcareous, laminated clay similar 
to that above the limestone at Rich Hill and Tivola is exposed in a 
gully on the land of Mr. S. G. Kitchens. Scutella (?) was noted 
in calcareous layers in the clay. The higher land above this clay is- 


JACKSON FORMATION 


305 


covered by a bright red, ferruginous, argillaceous sand in which 
there are scattered fossihferous flint fragments having the aspect of 
the Vicksburg formation. 

1 , 0n t' 16 . Macon-Cochran public road, on Shell Creek, near West- 
lake, .Frol. McCall le collected Peden perplanus Morton; on the 
same road one mile east of Westlake, he obtained Platytrochus staked 
(.Lea), and Endopacliys madurii. (Lea). These exposures probably 
represent the Jackson formation. On the McRae farm, three miles 
east of Westlake, he collected Mortonia, Peden perplanus Morton, 
and Amusium ocalanum Dali, which suggest the presence of the 
V lcksburg formation, since Amusium ocalanum has hitherto not been 
found lower than the Vicksburg. 


PULASKI COUNTY. 

Hawhinsville. The Jackson formation appears on Ocmulgee 
Kiver in the lower part of Taylor’s Bluff, three miles above Hawkins- 
vi lie. 

Section of Taylor’s Bluff three miles above Hawhinsville. 

6. Concealed by vegetation.^ 2 ^ 

5. Massive wall of soft, argillaceous limestone, no bed¬ 
ding; few fossils. 25 

4. Fossiliferous limestone, with alternate hard and soft 


layers; somewhat argillaceous. 17 

3. Very hard, compact, greenish-gray clay. 2 

2. Greenish-gray, calcareous sandstone. 1 

1. Bluish drab, compact, sandy clay to water’s edge ... 3 


The fossils collected from the lower 20 feet of the section, Flabel- 
lum Cuneiforms, Sphenotrochus spEndopacliys maclurii (Lea), 
Leda nultilineata, Conrad, Venericardia planicosta, Lam, and Lu- 
nulites sp., are regarded by Dr. Vaughan as of Jackson age. Amus¬ 
ium ocalanum, collected 22 feet from the base of the bluff, indicates 
fhat the upper part is of Vicksburg age. No unconformity was ob¬ 
served between the two formations. 


JOHNSON COUNTY. 

Kittrells. —Prof. McCallie has furnished the following sec¬ 
tion descriptive of the strata exposed in the bluff at Wring Jaw 
Landing on Oconee River, two miles west of Kittrells. 

Section at Wring Jaw Landing 


Jackson formation. Feet 

8. Massive, red, sandy clay.8 

7. Stratified, red, sandy clay.8 

6. Bluish, lignitic clay.8 

5. White and yellow sands. 4 











306 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet 

4. Bluish clay with fossil leaves . .. 

3. Hard, glauconitic limestone, fossiliferous.® 

2. Bluish clay with fossil shells.^ 

1. Soft glauconitic limestone or marl. 

Dr. Vaughan has identified the following fossils from this locality: 

List of fossils from Wring Jaw Landing 
Orhitoides so. Leda 

Flabellum cuneiforme Lonsdale Pecten perplanus Morton 

Platytrochus stokesi (Lea) Ostrea trigonalis Conrad 

Endopachys maclurii (Lea) Protocardia mcolleti Com 

Mortonia sp. Lunulites distans Lonsdale 

Nucula ovula Lea 

Lithologically, the strata are similar to the Claiborne material 
near Sandersville and west of Tennille. The red sand, which over- 
lies the marl extends about seven miles east of the river, beyond 
which it becomes obscured by strata of Oligocene age and by the Alta- 
maha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

SAVANNAH RIVER 


Johnson’s Landing.— Dr. Vaughan examined an exposure of 
fossiliferous, silicified limestone on the South Carolina side of the 
river on the north side of the upper road to the landing, in a field 
just above the margin of the river swamp. Pecten perplanus Morton 
and numerous Bryozoa were observed. This exposure probably be¬ 
longs to the Jackson formation but the evidence is not entirely con¬ 
clusive. 


OLIGOCENE 
VICKSBURG FORMATION 
NAME 

This division of the Tertiary receives its name from Vicksburg, 
Miss., where it was first studied and named by Conrad. It is in 
part the equivalent of the St. Stephens limestone of Alabama, and 
includes in Florida the Ocala, “Peninsular,” and Marianna limestone. 
Vaughan 3 has recently stated that it is probable that the Florida di¬ 
visions should be grouped as one formation. The St. Stephens lime¬ 
stone of Alabama has been traced from Mississippi to Chattahoochee 
Liver; it, however, includes the Jackson, whereas in Georgia the 
Jackson has been differentiated from the Vicksburg. The possibil¬ 
ity of subdividing the Vicksburg in Georgia into tw T o formations has 
been considered but the present work has not been sufficiently de- 


1 Prof Acad Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. 3, 1846, pp. 280, 281. ., . 

2 Matson, G. C., and Clapp. F. G., Preliminary report on the geology of Florida, 

F1 »C(HUrUmtions r to'Vhe^Geologic history of the Floridian Plateau, Publication No. 133, 
Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1910. p. 150. 







VICKSBURG FORMATION 


307 


tailed to furnish either a lithologic or paleontologic basis for the con¬ 
sistent extension of such subdivisions across the area. That subdi¬ 
visions may later be made is probable. 

In the previous literature on Georgia geology this formation has 
been briefly described under the name “White Limestone series” by 
Spencer, and under the names “Vicksburg-Jackson” and “Vicks¬ 
burg” by McCallie, Veatch 3 and others. Parts of the underlying 
Jackson formation and of the overlying Chattahoochee formation 
have been included under these divisions by the authors mentioned. 

The Vicksburg formation or group was in the earlier literature re-, 
ferred to the Eocene division of the Tertiary, but in most of the more 
recent publications on Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain geology it has 
been placed under the Oligocene. The adoption of this European 
division (Oligocene) of the Tertiary in the classification of the 
strata of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States is 
due largely to the studies of Dr. W. H. Dali 4 of the U. S. National 
Museum. 


DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic relations .—The Vicksburg formation, which is class¬ 
ified as Oligocene, occupies a stratigraphic position between the Jack- 
son and the Chattahoochee formations. 

Contacts with the Jackson formation were seen in Houston and 
Pulaski counties where there seems to be no physical break between 
the two divisions. 

West of Flint Eiver, the Vicksburg extends northward to the Mid¬ 
way and Wilcox belts of outcrop, and has overlapped and largely 
obscured the Claiborne group and Jackson formation. Unconform- 
able contacts with the Claiborne group, the Jadkson apparently miss¬ 
ing, were noted near Fort Gaines, Cuthbert, Shellman, Americus, 
and Andersonville. 

Unconformable relations or erosion contacts have been observed 
between the Vicksburg formation and the overlying Chattahoochee 
formation, in the vicinity of Bainbridge, Decatur County, by Pum- 
pelly and Vaughan (see under Chattahoochee formation). North¬ 
ward from Decatur County, in the escarpment on the east side of 
Flint Fiver, the Chattahoochee formation is doubtfully present in 
natural exposures, and the Vicksburg seems to be directly overlain by 

Spencer, J. W., First Report of Progress ; Geol. Survey of Georgia. 1890-1891. 

2 McCallie, S. W., Underground waters of Georgia; Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. 
No. 15, p. 33. 

3 Veatch, Otto, Clay deposits of Georgia; Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 18, pp. 
75-76. 

4 For a discussion of the Oligocene see papers by Dali: Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. 19, 
No. 1110, 1896, pp. 303-305. 

Table of North American Tertiary horizons, U. S. Geol. Survey, Eighteenth Ann. 
Kept., 1896-1897. part 2. 

Trans. Wag. Inst. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. 3, pt. 4. 1903, pp. 1546-1549. 



308 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


the Alum Bluff, but it is probable that the Chattahoochee formation 
exists in this region and is merely concealed by weathering and by 
the Alum Bluff formation. Eastward in Dooly, Pulaski, Laurens, 
Burke, and Screven counties, and other counties along the northern 
margin of the formation, as the Vicksburg formation is overlapped 
and partially obscured by the Altamaha (Lafayette $) formation, 
Alum Bluff formation, and by Pleistocene deposits, its relation to 
the Chattahoochee formation is not known, other than that it is strat- 
igraphically lower than that formation. 

Lithologic characters .—The formation is made up largely of white 
limestones, but also contains beds of sand and clay. The limestones 
have been extensively silicified and in many places do not appear at 
all at the surface, but are concealed by vari-colored, very coarse 
grained, sandy clays, which are probably residual, in which residual 
flint fragments are imbedded. 

The limestones are generally white or cream colored, soft and 
earthy and very abundantly fossiliferous. Flat, disc-like Orbitoides, 
Bryozoa, and pectens, and their fragments form nearly the whole of 
the rock in places. Along Flint River the rock has a characteristic 
vesicular or pitted appearance due to solution. There are cave-like 
recesses in the bluffs producing a rough jagged appearance. Bedding 
planes and joint planes are almost entirely absent. At a few local¬ 
ities, however, the limestones are hard, white, and crystalline, and 
sufficiently pure for use in the manufacture of lime. The softer 
rocks contain varying percentages of silica and clay. The silica 
is generally not in the form of quartz grains, but has been intro¬ 
duced in solution in circulating waters replacing the limestone. 

The limestones have been extensively silicified and the formation 
is often represented by flint fragments and large siliceous boulders; 
at no place does the flint appear in continuous, solid or undisturbed 
beds. The flint is either porous and tripoli-like, or brittle, compact 
and translucent, having been converted into jasper and chalcedony. 
The white porous flint is prominent wherever the Vicksburg is the 
underlying geological formation. The white or cream color is due 
ft the porous condition of the rock, the silica of which when examined 
under the microscope is seen to be in translucent grains probably in 
the form of chalcedony. These flint rocks are in many places as fos¬ 
siliferous as the limestones, and are evidently replacements of the 
soft, porous limestones of the Vicksburg formation. 

The alteration in most cases has been complete, the rock rarely 
showing effervescence with acids. Some of the flint is dense, compact, 
vitreous or brittle and either translucent or red, yellow or brown. 


VICKSBURG FORMATION 


309 


This variety shows fewer traces of fossils than the porous flint, hut 
it is probably a replacement of the limestones; as an exception, jas¬ 
per in the form of nodules in the limestones, apparently produced 
by the segregation of silica and not b^ replacement has been observed 
at Albany. 

Large boulders of flint appear along Flint River from Al bany to 
Bainbridge and form some of the most picturesque spots along the 
river.. The boulders are characteristically vesicular and contain 
spherical cavities an inch or more in diameter. These cavities ap¬ 
pear to have been originally occupied by echinoids and often a spongy 
skeleton-like kernel of silica remains in place of the fossil. 

The Vicksburg formation is deeply weathered, the weathered 
product appearing at the surface as deep red, argillaceous sands, con¬ 
taining scattered flint fragments and black and brown iron oxide ac¬ 
cretions about the size of buckshot. Where the sands have been ex¬ 
posed to the atmosphere for long periods of time as in old railway and 
road cuts, they have become case-hardened or slightly cemented by 
iron oxide, and crack into polygonal figures. At a number of places 
the residual clays and sands present a mottled appearance not unlike 
that of the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. The freshly exposed 
residue of decomposition and solution is a highly siliceous, bluish or 
gray, tenaceous clay. 

Sand beds which probably belong to the Vicksburg formation have 
been reported in a number of wells. In a cut of the Central of Geor¬ 
gia Railway, one-half mile east of Dawson, there are two beds of vari¬ 
colored sand associated with residual flint and clay, but which them¬ 
selves do not appear to be residual. 

Thickness .—The thickness of the formation can not be determined 
from natural exposures. Estimating from well records, the thickness 
in the western part of the State can hardly be more than 300 feet and 
at many localities is much less than this amount. Along the northern 
margin of the formation in Clay, Randolph, Webster, and Sumter 
counties, the thickness is less than 100 feet. Sepncer estimated the 
thickness at Bainbridge to be 500 feet. It is probable, however, that 
a part of the strata included by him in the Vicksburg formation 
should have been referred to the underlying Eocene. The formation 
also appears in Burke and Screven counties, but no data for estimat¬ 
ing its thickness in that region are available; however, it probably 
does not exceed that in the western part of the State. 

Paleontologic characters .—The formation is highly fossiliferous. 
The most abundant forms are foraminifera and bryozoans. So 
abundant is one genus, Orbitoides , a flat, disc-like foraminifera, va- 


Uteport'of Progress, Geological Survey of Georgia, 1890-1891, p. 55. 



310 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


rying from one-quarter inch to two inches in diameter, that the for¬ 
mation has been named in older literature the “Orbitoidal lime¬ 
stone.” The fauna; of the Vicksburg formation possesses certain 
distinctive characteristics, although some of the common Vicksburg 
forms such as Orbitoides and Pecten perplanus are also found in the 
underlying Jackson formation. One of the characteristic fossils of 
the formation is Amusium ocalanum. Venericardia planicosta, which 
ranges up into the underlying Jackson formation has not been found 
in the Vicksburg formation. Common Vicksburg fossils are Orbi¬ 
toides mantelli, Orbitoides papyracea, Nummulites wilcoxi, Glycyme- 
ris arctatus, Pecten poulsoni, Pecten perplanus, Amusium ocalanum, 
and Cytherea sobrina. 

Areal distribution. —The Vicksburg formation underlies a large 
area in the western part of the Coastal Plain, including parts of or all 
of the counties of Sumter, Lee, Terrell, Webster, Randolph, Clay, 
Early, Calhoun, Dougherty, Baker, Mitchell, Miller, and Decatur. 
Areas also occur in Crisp, Dooly, Houston, Pulaski, Twiggs and Lau¬ 
rens counties. Eastward from Oconee River the formation has been 
largely concealed by later formations and only small areas are known 
in Screven and Burke counties. With the exception of the Altamaha 
(Lafayette?) and Pleistocene surficial deposits, the area over which 
the Vicksburg is the surface formation is greater than that of any 
other Coastal Plain formation. 

Physiographic expression. —The formation has exerted a notable 
effect upon the topography. The general surface areas underlain by 
it are more nearly level than is usual in the case of the other older 
Coastal Plain formations. Underground solution has been extensive 
and the plains are dotted by limesinks and ponds. These ponds vary 
from shallow, circular depressions not more than 50 feet across, to 
sinks occupying several hundred acres. The region is also character¬ 
ized by a scarcity of surface streams tributary to the larger streams 
since much of the drainage is underground by way of the sinks. 

Structure. —The beds are almost horizontal, but dip slightly to the 
southward, at an angle less than that of the underlying older strata. 
Estimating from the supposed base of the formation at Americus and 
Cuthbert, and the supposed base at Albany as determined from the 
record of an artersian well, the dip southward probably does not 
exceed eight feet per mile. Ho flexures or faulting were observed at 
any place, although detailed geologic work may reveal disturbances of 
this character; it is certain that the Coastal Plain has undergone os¬ 
cillations subsequent to the deposition of the Vicksburg formation. 


VICKSBURG FORMATIOX 


311 


Economic geology .-—The Vicksburg formation contains at a few 
places beds of hard, comparatively pure limestone, suitable for lime¬ 
burning. The most suitable rocks of this character noted during 
field work are near Armena, Lee County, and on the Jones planta¬ 
tion three miles west of Arlington; similar rocks, however, doubtless 
exist at other localities. The harder phases of the limestone are also 
suitable for road metal when surfaced with flint; such material has 
been used for this purpose with some success at Albany. The flint 
rock of the formation may be used locally for road metal and in con¬ 
crete work. Most of the more important hard rock exposures of the 
formation are mentioned on succeeding pages. 

LOCAL DETAILS 
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER 

On Chattahoochee River, the Vicksburg formation appea^ at 
Miriam Landing, Decatur County, and is described by Langdon as 
a white orbitoidal limestone, having a thickness of 200 feet. 

At Saffold, Georgia, and Alaga, Ala., beds of flint containing 
Vicksburg fossils appear in the escarpment of the second Pleistocene 
terrace at an elevation of 50 to 75 feet above river level. Limestone 
occurring near the river level at the Atlantic Coast Line railroad 
bridge, is probablv referable to the underlying Eocene, and has been 
previously discussed. 

BETWEEN FLINT AND CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER 

Much of the region between these rivers is a nearly flat plain in 
which limestone exposures are rare. The surface materials consist 
of red, argillaceous sands, for the most part residual, in which are 
embedded fragments of flint that contain the same fossils as the 
limestone of the formation as. exposed on Flint River. 

Cuthbert, Randolph County. —-Residual boulders of flint are num¬ 
erous over the surface west and southwest of Cuthbert; the rock is 
in part hard and vitreous and in part soft and porous. In a cut of 
the Central of Georgia Railway, one and one-half miles west of the 
station, fossiliferous Vicksburg flint in clay rests unconformablv 
upon red sand which is supposed to be Claiborne (see page 266 ) At 
one place there is a pocket of laminated, lignitic clay m the Vicks¬ 
burg formation. The flint at this locality contains Orbitoides, Pecten 
perplanus, Cytherea sobrina, and other Vicksburg forms. 

Blakely, Early County.— Dr. Vaughan has furnished the follow¬ 
ing notes on the geological conditions at Blakely: 

'Report on the Coastal Plain of Alabama : Geol. Survey of Alabama, 1894, p. 745. 



312 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“The surface is composed of red sands, underlain by Vicksburg limestone 
changed to chert. OrMtoides mantelli (Morton) is very abundant and an 
apparently undescribed species of Pecten was obtained.” 


Prof. S. W. McCallie 1 has published the record of a deep well at 
Blakely. 


Blakely Deep Well, Blakely, Ga. 


Red, sandy clay. 

Coarse, grayish sand. 

Coarse, light-yellow sand. 

Yellowish, cherty limestone (Vicksburg) !!!.!! 

Yellowish, or grayish, sandstone.. 

Light-colored, almost white calcareous sandstone prob¬ 
ably base of Vicksburg-Jackson. 

Gray sands, darker at bottom.’ 

Greenish sands, with Ostrea divaricata . 

Fine, gray sand, hard ledge at bottom ...... 

Fine sand, with some clay. 

Bluish clay.* 

Quartz sand, with glauconite. 

Hard sandstone with glauconite; two oysters ap¬ 
parently Gryphaea and Exogyra costata . 

Grayish or bluish sands. 


from 


Feet 
1 to 10 


10 ” 

20 

20 " 

30 

30 ” 

40 

40 ” 

50 

50 ” 

70 

70 ” 

140 

140 ” 

160 

160 ” 

285 

285 ” 

290 

290 ” 

490 

490 ” 

500 

500 ” 

510 

510 ” 

580 


From 580 feet to the bottom of the well, limestone interstratified with 
clays and sands is reported. The third water-bearing stratum, which is 
probably upper Cretaceous, is said to consist of a coarse sand. 


The flint from the Vicksburg formation in this vicinity has been 
used for macadamizing the streets of Blakely. 

Hilton, Early County. —In a railroad cut one mile west of Hilton 
Station, 20 feet of white, siliceous clay of the Vicksburg is exposed, 
overlain unconformably by coarse, pebbly sand, probably a Pleisto¬ 
cene terrace deposit. The residual, siliceous clay probably originated 
from the decomposition of a partially silicified argillaceous limestone. 
It lies near the base of the formation. 


Dawson, Terrell County.— Interesting occurrences of the Vicks¬ 
burg formation are revealed in a cut of the Central of Georgia Rail¬ 
way one-half mile east of the station. Soft, porous, or “rotten” flint 
occurs in mottled, residual, siliceous clay, but there are layers of 
coarse, purplish, red, and yellow sand, and pockets of clay, which 
apparently are original and not residual. 

Bronwood ,, Terrell County.—Flint fragments of the Vicksburg 
formation are especially abundant in the fields, three to four miles 
northeast of Bronwood. These are evidently near the base of the 
formation. 


‘Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 15, pp. 105-107. 

















GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXII. 




A. MASSES OF FLINT FROM THE VICKSBURG FORMATION, EIGHT OR NINE 
MILES ABOVE BAINBRIDGE. DECATUR COUNTY. 


B. EXPOSURE OF FLINT AND LIMESTONE OF THE VICKSBURG FORMATION 
JUST ABOVE DEWITT FERRY, FLINT RIVER. MITCHELL COUNTY. 


















* 





f 

t 




* 







































































































































VICKSBURG FORMATION 


313 


, t< f !** 9 n : ° alhoun County.— There is a notable outcrop of lime- 
“ I Arlington. The rock appears in a bluff on the edge of the 
swamp of Spring Creek, on the T. F. Jones plantation, three and 
one-half miles west of Arlington. The natural exposure shows a 
maximum of 20 feet, of very compact, white, crystalline limestone. 

ne P urit J of the rock is exceptional and it is exceedingly hard and 
compact, whereas the formation elsewhere is generally soft. Crys¬ 
tallization of the calcium carbonate has probably largely destroyed 
fossils, but Orbitoides, Pecten , and Bryozoa were detected, though no 
species were determined. The fossils and the geographic position 
Ox the outcrop seem to be sufficient evidence of its Vicksburg age. 

There is a conspicuous occurrence of Vicksburg flint in a cut of 
the Central of Georgia Railway two miles west of Arlington. The 
flint is embedded in a bluish red and mottled, siliceous clay. 


Colquitt , Miller County.— Flint in the form of large projecting 
boulders is exposed on Spring Creek, one-half mile west of Colquitt 
and on Long Branch, two and one-half miles north of Colquitt. At 
each place the rock is porous and tripoli-like, a condition probably 
due to a partial replacement of limestone, the remainder being car¬ 
ried away in solution. Casts and moulds of Pecten, Orbitoides, small 
gastropods, and a large oyster are numerous. 


Andersonville , Sumter County. —Exposures of stratigraphic in¬ 
terest occur on the Battle plantation, five miles southeast of Ander¬ 
sonville, and near the ninth milepost on the lower Americus-Ogle- 
thorpe road. The following succession occurs: 


Section on Battle plantation. 


Oligocene. 

Vicksburg formation. 

8. Knoll of hard, vitreous flint with Vicksburg fossils 

7. Red, argillaceous sand. 

6. Thin flint layer with the fossils, Orbitoides,’ Pec¬ 
ten, etc. 

5. Red sand.[ ’ * ’ ’ 

4. Yellow, sandy, glauconitic clay. 

3. Thin layer of quartzite. 

2. Purplish sand.[ 


(Unconformity) 

Eocene. 

Claiborne group ? 

1. Fine, incoherent, quartz sand . . . 


Feet. 


I- . . 30 


12 

2 

4 


10 + 


The base of the Vicksburg here contains a small amount of lignitic 
matter. The Vicksburg-Claibome unconformity is also revealed near 
the seventh milepost on the Americus-Oglethorpe road. 









314 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Americus, Sumter County. —In this vicinity flint fragments are 
abundant in the soil and are prominently exposed in a cut of the Sea¬ 
board Air Line Kailway three miles west of Americus. Vicksburg 
flint also occurs south and east of Americus. In the city of Americus,, 
the Vicksburg formation consists of deep red argillaceous sand 
capping the higher land and resting unconformably on non-fossili- 
ferous sand believed to belong to the Claiborne group. This uncon¬ 
formity is revealed in a cut one-quarter of a mile east of the Seaboard 
Air Line Railway station. 

< Armena, Lee County. —A fine exposure of Vicksburg limestone 
occurs on the plantation of Mr. J. F. Cocke, at Armena, 11 miles 
northwest of Albany. About three-quarters of a mile northeast of 
the station 10 feet of the rock appears in a bluff of Fowltown Creek, 
and about one-quarter of a mile east of this latter locality, at a cave 
known as the “Indian Den/' there is 18 feet of limestone. The lime¬ 
stone is overlain by a small thickness of red, residual sand, contain¬ 
ing scattered flint fragments. The rock at both localities, is a hard, 
white, crystalline limestone in massive beds; it is of sufficient purity 
to make it a valuable stone for the manufacturing of lime. The 
fossils, Orbitoides, Operculina, Pecten perplanus, and Amusium 
ocalanum, were collected here. The rock is correlated with the Vicks¬ 
burg limestone at Albany and at other points on Flint River. 

Palmyra, Lee County. —A fine exposure of Vicksburg limestone 
also occurs on Fowltown Creek, at Davis’s Mill near Palmyra, six 
miles north of Albany. The limestone is soft, contains Orbitoides, 
Pecten, Bryozoa, etc., and resembles that at the power plant north of 
Albany. A maximum of 30 feet of rock is exposed and it is overlain 
by dark red sand. 

EXPOSURES OX AND NEAR, PLINT RIVER 

The most typical exposures of the Vicksburg formation occur along 
Flint River. For an airline distance of about 80 miles the channel 
of the river is entirely cut in the Vicksburg formation. 

Near 0 ah field. Worth and Lee Counties. —Limestone is exposed at 
the Albany & Northern Railroad bridge over Flint River, and in the 
bluff on the southern side of the Great Bend of the river, one and one- 
half miles above the bridge, in Lee county. The rock contains char¬ 
acteristic Vicksburg fossils, such as Orbitoides, Pecten, etc. A 
minute, curled foraminifera, Operculina, is especially abundant. 

One and one-half miles above the bridge a precipitous bluff 25 to 
50 feet high exposes at its base 10 or 15 feet of white, compact, non¬ 
crystalline limestone. The rock presents a jagged and pitted appear- 


VICKSBURG FORMATION 


315 


ance and the river has cut cave-like recesses into it. The strata over- 
lying the limestone consists of red, argillaceous sand containing flint 
fragments, doubtless residual, above which is a variable thickness of 
Pleistocene terrace sand. This locality was described by Spencer 
as the southern limit of the Claiborne group, hut paleontologic evi¬ 
dence establishes its Vicksburg age. 

The limestone probably extends up the river above Oakfield to a 
point a short distance above the Seaboard Air Line Railway bridge. 
The rock exposed in the river bank at this latter place, and at Clegg’s 
siding a short distance to the eastward, resembles the Vicksburg lime¬ 
stone. The fossils noted were Orbitoides, Pecten perplanus Morton, 
and Bryozoa. The possibility, however, of its being the equivalent 
of the Jackson limestone south of Perry should be considered. 

Dr. Vaughan furnishes the following geologic notes on eastern 
Lee County and western Worth County: 

“At Philema, Ga., there is a well 163 feet deep with a flow of good water. 
I could not get a reliable record of the well, but apparently the water 
comes from the Vicksburg limestone. 

“There are numerous sinkholes four miles west of Philema. The sub¬ 
surface rock is a soft, porous, often reddinsh-stained limestone, sometimes 
silicifmd. Orbitoides is abundant. This rock apparently belongs to the 
Vicksburg formation. 

“Specimens of limestone were obtained from a well four and one-half 
miles west of Philema at a depth of about 30 feet. 

“Topographically, the country from Flint River about two miles above 
Philema, to four miles west of Philema, is ‘flat-woods,’ very level, and 
probably does not rise more than 50 feet above the river for several miles 
back. About four miles west of the river there are numerous limesinks in 
which are deep ponds or pools. The surface formation consists of reddish 
sands or reddish sandy clays in which chert is abundant. It is probable that 
much of the clay is residual. The elevation of this area is higher above the 
river than that of the ‘flatwoods.’ According to the best information obtain¬ 
able, the surface sands and clays are from 30 to 50 feet thick. These are 
underlain by limestone, the thickness of which could not be positively ascer¬ 
tained. According to some informants the thickness of the limestone is about 
50 feet, below which there is a sand bed. However, limestone certainly 
occurs to a depth of about 160 feet on James Martin’s place, four or five miles 
southwest of Philema. When I visited this place a well was being bored and 
the boring had reached about 160 feet, and was at that time in limestone 
containing Orbitoides. This place is estimated to be 75-100 feet above Philema. 
A bed of sand had been penetrated, but the driller did not wish to give a 
detailed record. 

“In going down Flint River from Philema to Albany, a distance by river 
of 30 to 50 miles, outcrops of limestone were seen from place to place from a 
few miles below Philema entirely to Albany. The rock is yellowish or whit¬ 
ish, often indurated on exposed surfaces, and belongs .to the Vicksburg for¬ 
mation About a mile below the mouth of Mill Creek is an exposure of blue 
sandy clay, aparently alluvial, but very different from the usual alluvium. 

“The structure is extremely simple, the beds frequently showing no 
perceptible dip, but occasionally showing a dip slightly greater than the fall 
of the river No marked flexures were observed, but at one place there were 
slight unduiations of the strata over a distance not exceeding 100 or 200 feet.” 

“Fossils were collected in Lee County as follows. 


/ 


316 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

List of fossils from Lee County. 

Four miles west of Philema, Lee county , Ga. 

Orbitoides mantelli (Morton) 

Echinoid 
Scaphander sp. 

Pecten perplanus Morton 

Four and one-half miles south of east of Philema , out of a well 
IfO feet below surface. 

Pecten (Chlamy cf. indecisus Dali) 

Amusium ocalanum Dali 

Thirty feet below surface: 

Operculina complanata (Defranee) 

Operculina complanata var. granulosa Lymeriea 

Albany and vicinity .—Limestone and flint of the Vicksburg for¬ 
mation appear at a number of localities along Flint River in the 
vicinity of Albany. The country to the west of Albany is covered by 
a red, argillaceous sand, and limestone is rarely seen, though there 
is abundant evidence that it is the underlying formation. The best 
locality for studying the limestone is at the power plant on Kinch- 
afoonee Creek two miles north of Albany. A large amount of rock 
has been excavated in constructing the dam at this place, and the 
bluffs of the creek also present a good section. 

Section on Kinchafoonee Creek two miles north of Albany. 


Feet 

4. Pleistocene sand, flint fragments at the base.10 

Vicksburg formation. 

3. Limestone.5 

2. Nodular and discontinuous flint layer; may reach a 

thickness of.2 

1. Massive limestone.8 


The limestone here is, on the whole, white or cream colored, soft, 
some parts friable, and massive bedded. It contains flint which seems 
to be both a replacement of limestone and also a jasper, which may 
be due to the segregation of silica and not to replacement. The 
abundance of remains of marine life is notable, the rock in places 
being composed almost entirely of a friable mass of Bryozoa and 
shells. 

The following notes on the Vicksburg formation in the vicinity of 
Albany are furnished by Dr. Vaughan: 

“At the crossing of the Albany Northern Railroad over Muckafoonee 
Creek there is an exposure of whitish, soft, chalky limestone stained yellow 
in places, containing an abundance of poorly preserved fossils. 

“On the east side of Flint River opposite Albany, there is an outcrop of 
white limestone which is in places silicified. Orbitoides and Pecten youlsoni 






VICKSBURG FORMATION 


317 


aie abundant. This material seems to belong to the Ocala limestone 

i ! s ? 01 l Vicksburg. The limestone is overlain by red sands and clavs 

which form the surface. 

At the springs about 3 miles south of Albany an enormous volume of 
water comes to the surface through channels in the Vicksburg limestone. 
Specimens of Amusium ocalanum Dali, echinoid spines, and Bryozoa were 
collected at this locality. I did not see any Orbitoides. 

At Rock Hill about one and one-half miles west of Albany on the road 
to Dawson (not the main road) a spring issues from the limestone. The 
limestone is in places cherty with numerous Orbitoides and Pecten, apparently 
poulsoni. 


“About three miles west of Albany there is a rise of some 30 feet and a 
change in surface soil from grayish sands to red, sandy clay. 

Thirteen miles west of Albany at Providence plantation yellow limestone 
and chert occur in brownish and reddish sands. Orbitoides and Pecten were 
collected. 

“About a mile south of Providence plantation a specimen of a large 
Pecten was obtained. 


“The following are lists of fossils collected in the vicinity of Albany: 


Fossils from Albany and vicinity. 


Three miles west of Albany, Ga. 

Monoporella—a species common in the Vicusburgian Oligocene, 
and until now found in collections from no other 
horizon. Determined by R. S. Bassler. 


Just above bridge of Albany Northern Raihcay over Muckafoonee Creek y 

Operculina Macropneutes? 

Cidaris Amusium ocalanum Dali. 


Western end of railroad bridge at Albany, Ga. 

Orbitoides mantelli (Morton) Crassatellites mississippiensis (Con- 

Lyria costata (Sowerby) rad) 

Orthaulax? sp. Venus sp. 

Pecten perplanus morton 

Albany, Ga., western end of wagon bridge. 

Orbitoides mantelli (Morton) Nummulties wilcoxi Heilprin. 

Orbitoides papyracea Boubee 

Muckafoonee Creek, Albany, Ga. 

Operculina complanata (Defrance). 

Prof. S. W. McCallie 1 has published the record of a deep well at 
Albany which is here repeated: 


Log of City Artesian Well, No. 2. (Albany, Ga.) 

Bored by Mr. E. F. Joyce. 


Log by Mr. C. 

Feet. 


Red clay. 

Light-colored clay. 

Coarse sand (Vicksburg) . 

Light-colored clay and coarse quartz sand 
Limestone, Orbitoides, at 150 feet, and frc 
200 feet . 


W. Tift . 


. from 

0 

to 

20 

99 

20 

99 

23 

99 

23 

99 

25 

99 

25 

99 

35 

to 

99 

35 

99 

200 


1 Geol. Surv. Ga., Bull. 15, 1908, pp. 98, 99. 








318 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet 

Gray limestone, Orbitoides, echinoids, Bryozoa, Tere- 

bratula; some shale from 230 to 240 ft. ” 200 to 280 

Gray sand with comminuted shells ( Ostrea ) ... ” 280 ” 285 

Some shale, coarse sand, shells and sharks’ teeth at 311 

Hard layer, Ostrea divaricata . ” 318 ” 320 

Ostrea divaricata at. 320 

Ostrea alabamiensis at .. 340 

Shale or marl, water vein at. 350 

Ostrea divaricata and alabamiensis at. 363 

Bed of lignite at. 367 

Bed of lignite at. 400 

Sand. ” 400 ” 475 

Echinoid spines, lamna teeth, stiff blue clay .... ” 470 ” 475 

Stiff blue clay. ” 475 ” 480 

Hard gray sandstone. ” 485 ” 488 

Oligocene and Eocene from the surface to. 500 

Pyrite and small oysters at. 520 

Green sands and greenish micaceous shales .... ” 530 ” 540 

Gray sand with black particles at. 600 

Water-bearing horizon, limestone, with pieces of 

hard, gray sandstone between 785 and 790 . . ” 690 ” 790 

XJ n ^ 7Q A ^ Q AA 


Clay shales, with limestone between 835 and 840 . ” 800 ” 850 

Limestone and shales. ” 850 ” 890 


Chiefly sand, at top a little gravel. At 880 feet 
limestone or calcareous sand, also light gray 
micaceous sand; at 890 feet, grayish sand, cal¬ 
careous fragments, hard, black pieces of pebbles 
and Ostrea, water-bearing micaceous sandstone 

between 920 and 930 feet. 890 ” 940 

Blue micaceous clay at 950 feet, thick shelled 
oysters, Gryphaea, the same also at 1,080 feet; 
at 1,100 feet gray sand with Ostrea and Exogyra 

costata . 940 ” 1,100 

Stiff, blue clay, micaceous sandstone, oysters . . . 1,100 ” 1,200 

Very stiff blue clay, at 1,255 feet, streaks of sand 
and shells, a small flow of water; from 1,240 to 

1,260 soft, shiny, blue clay. 1,200 ” 1,260 

Marl, gray sand, sandstone lumps, shells. 1,260 ” 1,270 

Gray and black sand, sandstone lumps. 1,270 ” 1,310 

Black irregular, waterworn pebble, with hard crys¬ 
talline fracture; coarse and fine quartz sand, 
shells, decayed wood, third water-bearing 

stratum; 50 gallons per minute. 1,310 ” 1,315 

Well ends in quartz sand at. 1,320 


Tlie base of the Vicksburg formation according to this section is 
probably between 200 and 280 feet, and the base of the Eocene is 
probably above 940 feet, since according to fossils the strata between 
940 and 1,100 feet are Cretaceous. Dr. Stephenson has made a 
recent examination of the fossils obtained from the borings of this 


I 
























VICKSBURG FORMATION 


319 


well and reports the Cretaceous fossils Anomia argentaria, at 890 
feet, and Exogym costata (?) at 500 feet.* 

Nigger Head Bend, Mitchell County. —This locality is about one 
and one-half miles south of Hardaway and on the east side of Flint 
River. The bluff at this place has a maximum height of 30 feet at 
low water. White limestone of the Vicksburg formation appears at 
the base of the bluff. 

Section at Nigger Head Bend 

Feet. 

Pleistocene. 

4. Stiff, bluish clay, which weathers yellowish or brown, 

variable in thickness. 4 

3. Yellow, gray, and brown stratified sand; has a layer of 

pebbles at the base. 8 

(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

2. Drab, bluish, and purplish stiff clay, having embedded in 
it fossiliferous flint fragments; the whole appears to 


be residual. 15 

Vicksburg formation. 

1. White or gray pitted limestone; appears both lithologic¬ 
ally and paleotologically similar to limestone at Al¬ 
bany .•. 2 


From paleontologic evidence Dr. Vaughan has classed stratum 
Ho. 2 as Chattahoochee. 

Dewitt, Mitchell County. —Soft, gray or white marl appears near 
the boat landing about three-quarters of a mile northwest of Dewitt. 
This rock rises about three feet above low water. It contains Orbi- 
toides and the characteristic Ocala limestone fossil, Amusium ocal- 
anum. Small fragments of bones were also noted. Flint boulders, 
probably resulting from the silicification of the limestone, were ob¬ 
served. 

Newton, Baker County. —Both limestone and flint appear in the 
bluffs of Flint River in the vicinity of Hewton. The lithologic and 
paleontologic appearance of the rock is similar to that at Bainbridge. 
A thickness of three or four feet of limestone appears in the bed of 

♦Note. —Dr. Stephenson has, in his study of the log of this well, placed 
the top of the Cretaceous at 500 feet. (See page 200.) This leaves a possible 
thickness of only about 220 feet for the combined Eocene. Based on obser¬ 
vations over the belts of outcrop, the thickness of the Claiborne formations 
has been estimated at 250-300 feet on Chattahoochee River and at or near 
the same thickness on Flint River; that of the Wilcox formation at 150 feet; 
that of the Midway formation from 218 feet on the Chattahoochee to 400 
feet on the Flint. The thickness of the Jackson is small, but will probably 
increase considerably the total for the Eocene. If the top of the Cretaceous 
is at 500 feet in the Albany well section, then there is a surprising decrease 
in the thickness of the Eocene southward from the belts of outcrop—O. V. 







320 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Cooleewahee Creek; it is a brownish, soft, somewhat granular, and 
oolitic rock containing Vicksburg fossils which Dr. Vaughan identi¬ 
fies as: 


Fossils from Cooleewahee Creek. 

Operculina 1 complanata Nummulites wilcoxi 

Orbitoides mantelli Amusium ocalanum 

Excellent exposures of flint were found at Bagg’s Ferry, five miles 
below Newton. The flint is fossiliferous and is evidently a silicifi- 
cation and replacement of limestone. All degrees of silicification 
were noted, from soft, white, siliceous limestone to vitreous, dense, 
translucent flint. The greater part of the rock is a soft, white porous 
flint. Huge blackened fragments appear in the channel of the river 
and form a picturesque scene. 

At Bed Bluff, seven miles above Bainbridge, a limestone similar 
to the rocks exposed at Bainbridge appears in the bluff 25 feet above 
low water. The fossils furnish evidence that the residual flint over- 
iying the limestone at this place belongs to the Chattahoochee for¬ 
mation. (See pages 325, 329.) The limestone presents an uneven 
upper surface due to solution and decay, and presents protrusions 
in the residual sandy clay. 

The following fossils were collected from the limestone and iden¬ 
tified by Dr. Vaughan: 1 

Fossils from Red Bluff. 

Orbitoides papyracea (Boubee) Cassidulus sp. 

Orbitoides n. sp. (stellately marked Clypeaster sp. 

form) Pecten suwanneensis Dali 

Nummulites wilcoxi Heilprin Pecten indecisus Dali 

Echinolampas sp. Amusium ocalanum Dali” 

Further references to the Vicksburg formation along Flint Biver 
will be found in the chapter on the Chattahoochee formation. 

Bainbridge. —Limestone of the Vicksburg formation is exposed 
in the bluff on the west side of the river at Bainbridge, between the 
wagon bridge and the Atlantic Coast Line Bailroad bridge. The 
river bluff here is about 20 feet high. The section is as follows: 


*The foraminifera in this list were identified by Dr. R. M. Bagg. 



VICKSBURG FORMATION 


321 


Section at Bainbridge. 


Pleistocene ? p ee t 

3. Brown sand and clay.8 

(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Vicksburg formation. 

2. Gray or bluish residual clay.2 

1. Soft limestone, maximum thickness.10 


The limestone rises 10 feet above low water. It is white or gray in 
color, massive, and shows no bedding. Fear the water’s edge it has 
a pitted, vesicular appearance. The rock is very soft, has a granular 
appearance, and is in places merely a loosely compacted mass of fora- 
minifera and pectens. Brown, limonitic clay occurs at the top of the 
limestone. This latter material also appears at Blue Springs and Red 
Bluff. Soft limestone is also exposed on the left bank of the river 
between the wagon bridge and the Georgia, Florida, & Alabama Rail- 
read bridge, and may be seen in the low bluffs of the river at a num¬ 
ber of points below Bainbridge. At Blue Spring, four miles below, 
it is overlain by the coralline flint of the Chattahoochee formation. 

The following notes on the strata at Bainbridge were supplied by 

Dr. Vaughan: 

Section of bluff on east side of Flint Biver , back of old factory, 
about two miles above Bainbridge. 

Pleistocene. Feet. In. 

3. Reddish sands and reddish sandy clay mixed 

with some blue clay. 15 

Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

2. This stratum presents diverse characters: 

a. Lower end of bluff along Vicksburg contact,— 
the material consists of whitish clay, some¬ 
times slightly sandy, and blotched with Ver¬ 
million. In the clay are pockets of limonitic 
iron ore. The clay occurs in the iron ore, on 
its sides, and beneath it. In the iron carbona¬ 
ceous particles were found. At the lower end 
of the bluff is 10 feet or more of this clay and 
limonite. 

b. Face of bluff proper,—impure lignite, and 

blackish lignitic clay, 5 feet. This is a pocket 
not extending to the lower end of the bluff and 
is replaced by purplish and bluish clays. Bluish 
clays, more sandy at top, overlie the lignite and 
lignitic clay... 


17 


6 







322 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Vicksburg formation. 

1. The lowest stratum seems to be that seen at the 
lower end of the bluff. It is a yellowish, ar¬ 
gillaceous limestone, sometimes hard and some¬ 
times soft and granular, composed of the re¬ 
mains of various calcareous organisms which 
show signs of trituration. Fossils are abund¬ 
ant but the species are few. Amusium 
ocalanum Dali and a very large OrMtoides, 0. 
papyracea Boubee, are the commonest. This 
stratum has evidently suffered great loss by 
solution, also the upper surface is extremely ir¬ 
regular. The thickness at one place, at the 
bottom of which is limestone, is fully 15 feet. 

In places the limestone appears as dike-like x 
masses, the next stratum or its derivations be¬ 
ing plastered against the sides. 

“The total height of this bluff is 37 or 38 feet. The lignitic stratum is 
also seen upstream from the bluff in the river bank. In this stratum were 
found large pieces of lignitized wood. 

“The upper surface of the Vicksburg frequently rises much above the 
level of the base of the next higher formation, but where contacts could be 
found the Vicksburg passes below it. It seems that the Vicksburg has been 
sub-aerially eroded. Another possible explanation is that the irregular sur¬ 
face is due to the underground solution of the limestone. The latter hy¬ 
pothesis is discarded and the former accepted because of the sudden change in 
the lithologic character of the next higher stratum. 

“Westward from Bainbridge the limestone does not appear at the sur¬ 
face and the formation is represented by fragments of flint, which bear the 
characteristic fossils of the Vicksburg formation. Limestone, however, is 
encountered in wells at varying depths.” 

Brinson, Decatur County. —Large residual masses of flint occur in 
the pine woods on the west side of Spring Creek. The rock contains 
Orbitoides papyracea, Amusium ocalanum, etc. 

BETWEEN FLINT AND OCMULGEE RIVERS 

Elko, Houston County. —There is a well-known occurrence of flint 
in the railroad cuts one mile south of Elko. The flint appears as 
massive fragments of compact jasper, breaking with a sharp, 
splintery, conchoidal fracture, and also as friable, very fossiliferous 
masses in red clay. The locality is of stratigraphic interest, and the 
flint and clay may be of economic value for road metal. 

At Taylors Ford, four miles south of Elko, on the ITnadilla road, 
fossiliferous flint fragments embedded in red and yellow clay are 
prominently exposed. A collection of Vicksburg fossils was made 
near this locality by S. W. McCallie. 1 

OCMULGEE RIVER 

Hawkinsville, Pulaski County. —The Vicksburg formation near 
Hawkinsville consists of soft, white, fossiliferous limestone, contain- 


UJnderground waters of Georgia : Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 15, 1908, p. 352. 



VICKSBURG FORMATION 


323 


ing abundant fossils, together with fragments of fossiliferous flint 
embedded in residual clay. Exposures occur in the river banks near 
tbe city, at Harrells Landing, McDonnells Landing, Ways Landing, 
and Taylors Bluff, three miles above Hawkinsville. The formation 
has a similar lithologic and paleontologic aspect to that farther west. 
The section at Taylors Bluff is of much stratigraphic interest, since 
the relation of the Vicksburg formation to the Jackson formation are 
shown. (For section see page 305.) 

Fossils collected from the lower 20 feet are regarded by Dr. 
Vaughan at Jacksonian in age; at 22 feet from the base of the bluff 
the characteristic Vicksburg fossil, Amusium ocalanum, was col¬ 
lected. Ho unconformity or break in sedimentation was observed be¬ 
tween the formations. 

OCONEE RIVER. 

Dublin, Laurens County. —Or ay, brown and white, both porous 
and vitreous, compact flint rock, appears as residual remnants at a 
number of localities along Oconee Biver. The following fossils were 
obtained from the rocks thrown from an excavation for a reservoir 
at the pumping station of the city water works: 

Fossils from Dublin. 

Cassidulus sp. Pecten poulsoni Morton 

Scutella sp. Pecten perplanus Morton 

Glycymeris arctatus (Conrad) 

There are no natural exposures of the limestone of the Vicksburg 
formation at Dublin, although it is encountered in wells. 

EXPOSURES ON AND NEAR SAVANNAH RIVER 

Girard and Flint Branch, Burke County. —Flint, bearing Vicks¬ 
burg fossils, outcrops at Buxton’s Mill, two and one-quarter miles 
south of Girard, and on the Millhaven public road at the ford at Mill 
Branch, two and one-half miles a little east of south of Girard. This 
shows that the Claiborne has dipped beneath the cover of the younger 
formations at this point. There is residual red sand over the Vicks¬ 
burg formation resembling that of the Barnwell sand, rendering the 
precise location of boundaries difficult or even impossible. 

At Ellisons Bridge, three miles southwest of Girard, vitreous flint 
forming a bluff 10 feet high is exposed a short distance above the 
bridge on the west side of Briar Creek. Ho deterlninable fossils were 
found and it is not possible to determine whether the rock belongs 
to the Claiborne group or to the Vicksburg formation. 


324 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Fragments of flint appear along Flint Branch, one and one-half 
miles north of Stony Bluff, Savannah Biver, which contain a few im¬ 
perfect prints and casts of fossils. Doctor Vaughan identified Orbi - 
toides from this locality. 

Johnsons Landing. —At Johnsons Landing, Savannah River,. 
S. C., flint rock appears near the level of the river, a short distance 
below the landing, and also as residual fragments in the escarpment 
of the second terrace. The rock is white, and porous, and is similar 
in appearance to much of the flint in the Vicksburg formation along 
Flint River. Pecten, Orbit oides, and 6orals were noted. This rock 
is included in Sloan’s 1 “King’s Creek Phase” of the. Oligocene. 

Hershman Lake , Screven County. —Large fragmental blocks of 
flint, as much as three feet in thickness, were discovered at the west¬ 
ern end of Hershman Lake. The rock appears similar to that at 
Johnsons Landing and is doubtless' of Vicksburg age. Ho outcrops 
of the formation of Vicksburg were found in the river bluffs below 
this point. 

Millhaven , Screven County. —An exposure of flint rock, which may 
be the equivalent of the flint of Vicksburg age on Savannah River 
occurs on Briar Creek a short distance above the bridge at Millhaven, 
or Garnett. It is very poorly fossiliferous, however, and it is difficult 
to determine its stratigraphic position beyond question. A small 
echinoid, Orbitoides (?), and a few poorly preserved siliceous bivalve 
casts were the only fossils found. 

APALACHICOLA GROUP 
CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


NAME 


The name Chattahoochee is applied to a limestone formation inter¬ 
vening between the Vicksburg and Alum Bluff formations. The 
name was first applied by D. W. Langdon 2 to a group of beds lying 
between the Vicksburg or “Orbitoidal” limestone, on Chattahoochee 
River, and the upper beds at Alum Bluff, Apalachicola River, 25 
miles below River Junction, Fla. The age of the beds was given as 
“newest Eocene” or “oldest Miocene,” since the Oligocene equiva¬ 
lence of the fauna was not at that time recognized. The Chatta¬ 
hoochee group as described by Langdon probably included beds 
which are now referred to the Alum Bluff formation, as the Pecten 
he mentions can scarcely be other than Pecten madisonius var. say- 
anus Dali, an Alum Bluff fossil. 


Catalogue of Mineral Localities of South Carolina: 


Geol. Survey of South Caro- 



CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


325 


Notes on the formation in Georgia have been published by Pum- 
pelly, 1 Foerste, 2 Spencer, 3 Vaughan, 4 * Harper," and McCallie. 6 It is 
evident that in much of the previous literature, beds which are de¬ 
scribed in this report under Alum Bluff formation, have been in¬ 
cluded under the name Chattahoochee “beds/’ “series,” or “group” 
ns used by various writers. The name Chattahoochee, as now used, 
is restricted to the lower portion of the Chattahoochee group of 
Langdon. 


DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic Relations. —Pumpelly 7 and Vaughan 8 have recog¬ 
nized an erosion unconformity between the Chattahoochee and the 
underlying limestone of the Vicksburg formation in Decatur County. 
At Blue Springs on Flint River, four miles south of Bainbridge, 
both formations are present, but the contact between the two is much 
obscured by the weathering of both the Vicksburg and the Chatta¬ 
hoochee. 

At Red Bluff, seven miles north of Bainbridge, an exposure sim¬ 
ilar to that at Blue Springs occurs. The Chattahoochee formation ap¬ 
pears as fragments of flint in residual, sandy clay, and the weathered 
limestone of the Vicksburg formation appears at the base of the bluff. 
There is evidence at this locality, and also at the bluff back of the 
Old Factory about two miles above Bainbridge (see p. 321), of an 
erosion unconformity. However, at Forest Falls, eight miles north¬ 
west of Whigham, no unconformities were observed in a section the 
base of which, according to paleontologic evidence, is referable to the 
Vicksburg formation, and successively higher portions of which, on 
the same kind of evidence, belong to the Chattahoochee and Alum 
Bluff formations. 

There was probably continuous deposition from the beginning of 
Chattahoochee deposition to the end of Alum Bluff deposition. No 
evidence of any time interval between the deposition of the two has 
been observed in the field. Prof. McCallie, 9 however, has noted 
an unconformity at the old Toy phosphate pit, three and one-half 
miles west of Boston, but whether this is an erosion unconformity 
or one due to the solution and irregular weathering of the limestone 


‘Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 46, pp 445-447 

2 Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser.. vol. 48, 1894, pp., 41-o4. 

3 ReDort of Progress : Geol. Survey of Georgia, 1890-1891, Dp. 57-59. 

^Science, n. s., vol. 12 1900 pp. 873-875. 

•Underground trater^of^Georgia^Vieoi. purvey^o^’Q«orgia Bull. No. 15, 1908, p. 32. 

7 0p. clt., pp. 445-447. 

’GeoL^Survey of Georgia Bull. No. 5-A, 1896, p. 62. 



326 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


has not been determined. When this locality was visited the rela¬ 
tions of the clay to the limestone were obscure because the pits had 
become largely filled by debris. 

Lithologic Characters .—The Chattahoochee formation is in gen¬ 
eral calcareous and varies from compact, pure, crystalline limestones 
to earthy and argillaceous limestones, and calcareous sands and sand¬ 
stones. Compact gray, drab, or white, fossiliferous limestones make 
up the bulk of the formation. A brecciated or conglomerate struc¬ 
ture is characteristic of some of the beds. This phenomenon was 
observed at nearly all localities where there were good exposures'. 
These conglomerate beds do not seem to be confined to a particular 
horizon, and their origin and significance are not well understood. 
Both the matrix and the angular or rounded fragments are lime¬ 
stone. Some beds appear to be pseudo-conglomerates, and consist of 
fossil echinoids in a limestone matrix, the structure of the echinoids 
having been partially obliterated, giving the appearance of water- 
worn fragments. The rock is phosphatic in a number of places, con¬ 
taining brown or black rounded pebbles of phosphate or fragments 
of bones and teeth. The limestone at the base of the formation has 
in a number of localities been replaced by silica; while in other in¬ 
stances the base of the formation is represented by fragmental beds 
of flint, containing corals and other fossils, in a matrix of residual 
clay. The flint closely resembles that of the underlying Vicksburg 
formation and can not always be easily distinguished from it. 

Thickness .—In the gorge northwest of Faceville, Decatur County, 
the Chattahoochee formation has a probable total thickness of 100 
feet. At Forest Falls, or Limesink/in the northern part of Grady 
County, it has an exposed thickness of 60 or 65 feet. Ho very re¬ 
liable data are at hand for estimating its total thickness to the east¬ 
ward and northeastward, under the cover of later formations. It 
is not great, however, and the maximum probably does not exceed 
200 or 250 feet. Examination of borings from wells at Valdosta, 
Way cross, and Savannah indicate such a thickness, but the proba¬ 
bility of a part of the limestone penetrated in these wells belonging 
to the underlying formation must be considered. 

Paleontologic Characters .—Although there is no abrupt faunal 
break between the Chattahoochee and the Vicksburg formations, and 
there are a number of forms common to both, their faunal differences 
are marked. The base of the Chattahoochee contains a rich coral 
fauna which, in the vicinity of Bainbridge, has been studied by 


CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


327 


Doctor Vaughan. 1 In a coral reef four miles south of Bainbridge 
he estimated that there were between 25 and BO species of corals, and 
correlated the beds with the Oligocene of Antigua. The charac¬ 
teristic Vicksburg species Arrmsium ocalanum does not appear in 
the formation; the genus Orbitoides is common to both the Vicks¬ 
burg and Chattahoochee formations, but the Chattahoochee species 
are usually different from those of the Vicksburg. Orbitolites com- 
; planata, a foraminifera, occurs in the Chattahoochee formation, but 
has not been found in the Vicksburg. Orthaulax pugnax, a gastro¬ 
pod common in the Tampa formation of Florida, has been found 
in two localities. 

Areal Distribution .—The area over which the Chattahoochee for¬ 
mation appears at the surface is small, as the terrane is largely con¬ 
cealed by the Alum Bluff and later formations. Good exposures 
occur along Flint River in Decatur County; and strata belonging, to 
the formation were noted by Langdon' on Chattahoochee River, nine 
miles above River Junction, Fla. The formation appears at Forest 
Falls and other lime-sinks in the northern part of Grady County; m 
the vicinity of Metcalf and Thomasville, Thomas County, and in the 
beds and bluffs of Withlacoochee and Allapaha rivers near the 
Georgia-Florid a line. It may be represented on Ocmulgee River 
near Abbeville and Hawkinsville by fragmentary beds and residual 
flint containing corals. Limestone, outcropping near Jacksonboro, 
Screven County, correlated by Dr. Vaughan with the Chattahoochee 
formation, has a small distribution along Briar Creek in Screven 
County. Limestone outcropping in a small area northwest of Millen, 
Jenkins County, is provisionally considered as a part of the same 
formation, but the data for this classification are admittedly very 
meager. Since the discovery of the Chattahoochee formation near 
Cordele, Crisp County, it is not improbable that further investiga¬ 
tions will reveal occurrences on the east side of Flint River between 
Cordele and Bainbridge. 

Physiographic Expression.—In portions of Decatur, Grady, 
Thomas, Brooks, and Lowndes counties, where the Chattahoochee 
formation lies near the surface, the topography is a little more hilly 


^Science, n. s., vol 12, 1900,vox'lln 324 

2 Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d 1889, • t ’ h ^‘ work ‘ f or this report an examination was 

3 Note. —Subsequent j-® the comp < H Spr i ns r farm, seven miles northwest of 

made of a A im f^ t0 /? e 1 J?ff Urr 'This rock is L 'verv similar, both lithologically and paleon- 

gSS-S&SSsft ® *s» w<3&s3srrr* 



328 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


and rugged than in other parts of southern Georgia. Lime-sinks, 
lakes, and ponds, due to the underground solution and consequent 
caving in of the limestone of the formation are notable features of 
the topography. 

Structure .—The formation is slightly tilted southward. The dip 
is believed to be very low, probably not exceeding six or eight feet 
per mile. The top of the formation is estimated to be about 225 
feet above sea-level at Forest Falls, or Limesink, and about 200 feet 
above sea-level near Faceville, approximately 24 miles to the south- 
westward. At Red Bluff, seven miles north of Bainbridge on Flint 
River, Dr. Vaughan has determined the presence of the Chatta¬ 
hoochee 1 by fossils, and here the base of the formation can hardly be 
more than 15 or 20 feet above the river, while at Blue Spring, four 
miles below Bainbridge, the base is about 10 feet above river level. 
This indicates a very low dip. What is probably limestone of this 
formation is reached in the Savannah wells at a depth of about 250 
feet; the nearest known outcrop is on Briar Creek, Screven County. 
This indicates a southward dip of about six feet per mile. 

Local dislocations of beds, due to underground solution and con¬ 
sequent sinking, have been observed in Thomas and Decatur counties. 

Economic Geology .-—The Chattahoochee formation contains some 
limestone beds sufficiently pure for use in the manufacture of lime. 
The rock in places is a very hard, non-magnesian limestone. Lime¬ 
kilns were formerly operated at old Jacksonboro, Screven County; on 
the Mitchell plantation six miles east of Thomasville; and on the old 
Copeland plantation, about nine miles west of Sunnyhill, Thomas 
County, near the Florida line. The more favorable outcrops, unfor¬ 
tunately, are not convenient to railway lines. 

The rock locally has some value as building stone for founda¬ 
tions, chimneys, etc., and could be used in concrete work. Both the 
hard and the softer, impure limestones contain, at several localities, 
a small percentage of phosphoric acid, which, together with the lime, 
nr calcium carbonate, should make them of local value as fertilizers. 

LOCAL DETAILS 

The stratigraphic relations and the characteristic petrologic 
aspects of the Chattahoochee formation are described in the follow¬ 
ing detailed sections: 

DECATUR COUNTY 

Bainbridge and Vicinity. —Dr. Vaughan furnishes the following 
description of the geology along Flint River from Red Bluff, seven 
miles above, to Hales’ Landing seven miles below Bainbridge: 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXIII. 



A. SINK IN CHATTAHOOCHEE LIMESTONE. RECOVERY. DECATUR COUNTY. 



B. 


1INK IN CHATTAHOOCHEE LIMESTONE. SHOWING THE LIMESTONE 
EDGE OF POND. ORIGINAL POND. THREE MILES WEST OF. 
METCALF. THOMAS COUNTY. 


AT 
























CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


329 


An important exposure is revealed at Red Bluff on the west side of Flint 
River seven miles north of Bainbridge, as the relations between the Chatta¬ 
hoochee and Vicksburg formations are here exhibited. 

Section, Red Bluff, Flint River, seven miles above Bainbridge. 


3. Reddish or yellowish sand and gravel with streaks 

of white and red clay. 15 

2. Bluish or whitish clay, some sand; residual masses 
of chert (Chattahoochee formation) 20 feet be¬ 
low top of the bluff. 35 to 45 

1. Limestone (Vicksburg formation) 50 feet below 

top of bluff to water’s edge. 10 


Detailed description of Red Bluff section : 

Pleistocene. 

Okefenokee formation. 

4. Yelowish sands and gravel about 2 feet. 

3. Sands and gravel, clay streaks, about 15 feet. In places No. 3 
seems to rest on the eroded surface of No. 2. The content of 
considerable quantity of small gravel makes a decided difference 
from No. 2. 

Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

2. Blue clay at water’s edge. 

2a. Pocket of lignitic clay containing pieces of bark and other 
fragmentary plant remains, about 4 feet or perhaps more in 
places. 

2b. Clays, succeeded by clays and sands, 42 feet. Total thickness 
of No. 2,—46 feet. 

The basal part of No. 2 is deposited unconform- 
ably over No. 1. Several holes were dug around the limestone 
to determine its relation to the clays. The general characters of 
No. 2 are similar to those revealed at Little Horse Shoe Bend, 

(p. 330), and the Old Factory, (p. 321). The clays are bluish 
whitish, or purplish; they are sandy in the upper portion. 

About 39 feet above the river is a mass of chert, probably 
residual after solution of the other portions of the stratum. 
Fossils are numerous, Pecten, Glycymeris, Venericardia, Venus, 
Amauropsis, Cypraea, Xenophora, etc. The molluscan fauna 
is the same as that of the chert at Little Horse Shoe Bend. 
Orbitoides is abundant, no identifiable corals collected.. 

Vicksburg formation. 

1. The oldest rock exposed is the Vicksburgian. It is a 
yellowish usually soft, and often granular limestone. Fos¬ 
sils, mostly foraminifera, are numerous. Orbitoides, sev¬ 
eral species, including 0. papyracea Boubee are abundant 
and attain an enormous size, several inches in diameter. 

There are other foraminifera, including Nummulites, sev¬ 
eral species of mollusks, Cypraea (casts), 2 species of 
Pecten, etc. This limestone is exposed at two points, 
where the bluff was studied and at both it extends to the 
water’s edge. In the down river exposure its thickness is 
13 feet. Two springs burst out of the limestone at the 
lower of the two exposures. 

The stratigraphic relations of the formations are me same as at the old 
Factory, on Flint River, two miles above Bainbridge, (see p. 321). Masses 
of chert of the Chattahoochee formation were seen along the road to Bain¬ 
bridge for a distance of several miles. 






330 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Bluff below Plant System Wharf, Bainbridge. —The section here outlined 
is similar to those at Red Bluff, Old Factory, Little Horse Shoe Bend, and 
Hales Landing. 

Section at Bluff below Plant System Wharf, Bainbridge. 


Pleistocene. 

4. Yellowish sands . 

Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

3. Cherty limestone and chert as residual masses, 
some lines of chert in sand, from a few inches 
to about.'. 

2. Clays, whitish, yellowish, or brownish, with lim- 
onitic pockets of variable thickness, depending 
upon irregularities of surface of the underlying 

limestone. 

Vicksburg formation. 

1. Limestone, yellowish, fossiliferous; Orbitoides, 
two species of echinoids, etc. Upper surface 
irregular from water’s edge to about. 


Feet. 
5 to 6 


'3 

3 to 15 

15 


The eroded upper surface of the Vicksburg is probably more clearly 
exposed here than at any other place. Perhaps some of the ferruginous 
pockets may be of Vicksburg age, but of this I am not sure. 

Along the western side of the road, leading up the hill to Bainbridge, 
a large block of the chert was seen east of the river bridge. 

Section at Cherry Shoot, three miles below Bainbridge, on west side of the 


3. Whitish river sand. 8 

2. Hard chert in boulders.. . 8 

1. Yellowish compact sands. 6 


Phis is not a good exposure. 

No. 2 contains many fossils but tney are siliceous casts or replacements 
and could not be satisfactorily cut out. Mollusks: Pecten, Tellina, Lucina , 
Glycymeris, \jardium, Psammobia, Venus, etc., Cypraea, Natica, Ampullinopsis, 
Cassius. Corals: Astrocoenia, Stylophora, Orbicella, Porites, etc. Corals are 
abundant, though not so numerous as at Little Horse Shoe Bend. 

“Blue Spring. —This spring, also known as Russell Spring, is on the east 
side of Flint River, about four miles by road down the river from Bainbridge. 
The exposure at this locality is not so good as those subsequently to be 
described. On the surface are reddish sands; these are underlain by silicified 
corals of a coral reef, and silicified limestone containing molusks character¬ 
izing the Cnattahochee format.on. The base of the exposure is formed by 
marl and limestone of the VicKsburg formation. 

“Little Horse Shoe Bend. —This locality is about four miles south of Bain¬ 
bridge and about one-quarter of a mile below the mouth of the stream run¬ 
ning from Blue or Russell Spring into Flint River. The river here makes a 
sharp east L o west flexure producing an exposure at the upper or eastern 
end. One-half mile further down stream^is another flexure, the river prac¬ 
tically resuming its general north and south course. Along the western side 
of this flexure is the exposure next to be described. 


Section at Little Horse Shoe Bend. 

Pleistocene. Feet 

4. Red sand and some gravel, a little clay in upper 

part. 8 









CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


331 


Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. Feet. 

3. Cherty limestone, a fossil coral reef. Moliusks, 

Cypraea, Conus, Clavella . Pecten, Glycymeris, 

Venus, numerous corals, Stylophora, Astro- 
coenia, Orbicella, Siderastrea, Alveopora, &c. 

No Orbitoides was found. This is not a con¬ 
nected stratum, but’ occurs in large detached 
masses which usually roll down the hillside; 
some however, are in situ. Thickness inferred 


from that of the larger masses. 3 

Probably basal Chattahoochee. 

2. Bluish or whitish sandy clay containing large ler- 
ruginous segregations of limonitic character. 

Thickness . 4 to 5 


(Unexposed about six feet, but probably entirely composed 
of the same material as No. 2. There is some ferruginous ma¬ 
terial also some material similar to No. 1.) 

Vicksburg formation. 

1. Yellowish clay and yellowish argillaceous lime¬ 
stone, composed largely of comminuted calca¬ 
reous organisms. Fossils moderately abundant. 

Amusium ocalanum Dali, Orbitoides, and several 
species of echinoids, &c. 


Section three-quarters of a mile below Blue Spring, west side of Flint River. 


(Thickness not measured but estimated.) 

Recent 

4. Sandy soil and humus.1 ft. to 18 inches 

Pleistocene. 

Feet. 

3. Reddish sands and some gravel, thickness variable 6 to 10 


Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

2. Cherty limestone, in remnantal masses, not a 
connected stratum, containing many fossils, Spon- 
dylus, Pecten, Turritella, Natica, Orbitoides, Orbi- 
cella, Calamophyllia, Astrocoenia pumpellyi, &c. 

1. Bluish, sometimes purplish clay. In this are large 
pockets of limonitic iron ore in masses often 10 
to 20 feet long and 3 to 5 feet thick. Along tne 
outer surface gravels are frequently cemented 
into conglomerate, but the gravel apparently was 
not originally a part of the stratum. Thickness 10 

The clay surrounds the iron, being both above and below it 
and on its sides. No fossils were found in it. In one place the 
purplish clay contained carbonaceous particles. 


Section at Hales Landing, about seven miles below Bainbridge on Flint River. 

This locality is a wood landing on the west side of the river About 1J0 
vards above it is the first exposure. There are three rocky points along the 
„ Feet. 

Low Bluff. 

Recent and -whitish sands containing a few pebbles and 

pieces or flakes of chert. 4 


/ 







332 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

3. Yellowish sand and masses of chert, the Chattahoochee 

formation, the chert residual in the sand. 14 

There is much gravel scattered over the surface of this 
layer, but apparently all of it could he derived from the chert 
of the quartz fillings of cavities of the rock. The residual char¬ 
acter of the chert is plainly shown. It occurs as definite layers 
in places in the sand, passing by disintegration into them. Many 
of the cherty masses are large, weighing as much as several 
tons. The collection of fossils here was better than at Little 
Horse Shoe Bend, as many specimens were nicely weathered 
out. The fossils are silicified and in the case of the corals the 
internal cavities are frequently filled with crystalline quartz and 
some residual red clay. The corals include Paracyathus, Trocho- 
cyathus , Stylophora, Astrocoenia, Orbicella, Dendracis, Astreo- 
pora, Poritidae, and Alveopora, about 21 species. Ovbitoides and 
echinoids are also present. Among the mollusks are Conus, 

Fusus, Turritella, Natica, Cerithium, Terebra, Orthaulux, Pecten, 
Lucina r \enus, Venericardia, etc. There is some clay with sand 
near the base of this stratum and there are indications of fer¬ 
ruginous pockets. 

Vicksburg formation. 

2. Blue clay, occasionally seen along water’s edge .... 

Vicksburg formation. 

1. Orbitoidal limestone of the Vicksburg formation . . . . 

This limestone is yellowish, brownish, or whitish, cherty 
in its upper portion. The fossils are very large Ovbitoides, 0. 
papyracea Boubte is very abundant, Ostrea (apparently vicks- 
burgensis, Pecten, etc. Its mode of occurrence is extremely 
perplexing, as masses of it are at higher levels than No. 2 and 
parts of No. 3. At one exposure it rises 15 feet above the level of 
the river, and seems to exist as a solid ledge beneath the water’s 
surface. 

The apparent explanation is that there was a hill of the 
Vicksburg formation and because of subsequent erosion masses 
of limestone have rolled down and assumed the present position 
with reference to the other strata. 

Chert of the Chattahoochee formation is exposed between the landing 
and the Bainbridge-Hutcheson Ferry road, and along the last-named road 
near the turn to go to the landing. 

i . 

The following notes on the Chattahoochee formation are also 
supplied by Dr. Vaughan: 

•Powell Lime Sink. —This is on the northern slope of a hill about eight 
and one-half miles east of Bainbridge, about three and one-half miles north¬ 
west of Climax, on Wm. Powell’s land. The position of the sink is indicated 
l^y ^ patch of oak and other hard wood trees. Its pei imeter is circular, 
about 200 feet in diameter. The depression is funnel-shaped with steeply in¬ 
clined walls. At the bottom is a deep pit with almost perpendicular walls, 
with a cave leading westward from its bottom. The edge of the sink is some 
20 feet below the top of the hill; from the edge of the sink to the edge of the 
pit is between 5o and 60 feet; the pit is about 25 feet deep. The entrance to 
this cave is through a steeply descending passage. The bottom of the sink is 
composed of soft, white, chalky, fossiliferous limestone. A fair number of 
very poor fossils were collected within the pit. They were Ncitica, Pecten, 



CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


333 


Venus, &c., the greater number unidentifiable. The fauna appears to belong 
to that of the Chattahoochee formation, and the rock lithologically is similar 
to the Chattahoochee. There are at least 35 feet of limestone. Above the 
limestone in tne sink is z5 feet of stiff blue clay. The surface'is composed of 
residual sanu and clay. On the western side of the hill, along the road, at 
the same level as the upper edge of the pit, chert containing Chattahoochee 
fossils were observed. 

Section down from hill at top of Powell lime sink. 

Feet. 


Age ? 

5. Yellow sands. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

4. Red clay, siliceous nodules in streaks, blue mottled clay 

below. 40 

3. Blue clays covered by residual clays and sands with 

siliceous and cherty streaks. 20 

2. Residual clays and sands. 15 

Chattahoochee formation. 

1. Fossiliferous chert. 


Faceville .—Sanborn Mill Creek, a small stream flowing northwest 
from Faceville to Flint River, has exposed about 100 feet of strata 
of the Chattahoochee formation. The difference in elevation be¬ 
tween Faceville and the level of Flint River is about 200 feet, and 
the distance is three miles. The stream flows down the steep west¬ 
ward-facing declivity of the Faceville plateau and has cut a narrow 
gorge revealing the underlying strata. Four Tertiary formations 
were recognized in the complete section. The top of the plateau is 
covered with a thin veneer of gray and brown sand. Beneath this 
are 40 or 50 feet of red sands belonging to the Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette?) formation. At the base of these sands, springs emerge which 
are in part the source of the creek. The next lower 50 feet is largely 
concealed and the character of the strata is inferred from the nature 
of the soil and a few poor exposures; the beds probably consist of 
sandy, laminated clays, becoming, towards the base, calcareous or 
argillaceous limestones; they occupy the stratigraphic position of the 
Alum Bluff formation. The Chattahoochee formation is mainly 
limestone, varying from hard, pure, crystalline limestone to very 
sandy and argillaceous limestone. In a few places are calcareous 
sands and bedded, calcareous clays. The upper part of the limestone 
contains a small percentage of phosphoric acid. There are present 
small Foraminifera, other invertebrate fossils and fragments of 
bones. The limestone is conglomeratic in appearance, but there is 
some doubt as to its being a true dqtrital conglomerate. Limestone 
beds in the lower part of the section have been quarried in a small 
way and are used locally for building stone. Fossils are nowhere 
abundant in the exposure. In the banks of Flint River, near the 
mouth of the creek, are large fragments of fossiliferous flint. This 







334 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

rock contains large Orlitoides and other fossils, and is similar in its 
appearance to the flint of the Vicksburg formation at other localities. 
For the last half-mile of its course the creek flows through an alluvial 
plain bordering Flint River, and as there is no exposure of the older 
rocks the actual contact between the Chattahoochee and the Vicksburg 
•could not be seen. 

Recovery. —There are a number of sinks near the railroad one 
mile west of Recovery, in which brown, or gray, sandy, and argilla- 
ceous limestone of the Chattahoochee formation is exposed, ibis 
rock is similar to that exposed in the Faceville section. In places 
the limestone is silicified, being replaced by opaline or chalcedonic 
silica of vesicular appearance. Prof. McCallie has noted large 
masses of silicified corals between Faceville and Recovery. 

Wylie Landing.— This locality is on Flint River, five or six miles 
above its junction with the Chattahoochee, and one and one-half 
miles due north of the 254th mile-post on the Atlantic Coast Line 
railroad. The limestone exposed here evidently occupies the same 
stratigraphic / position as the limestone at Faceville, and at the type 
locality, Chattahoochee, Fla. 

Section at Wylie Landing , Flint River. 

Feet 

3. Bright red sand capping the bluff. ? 

2. Massive-hedded limestone, weathered. JJJ 

1. Greenish or bluish clay containing rock fragments ... 10 

The limestone is grayish or white, hard, and non-crystalline; some 
of it has a conglomeratic appearance similar to that at Faceville. 
The lower 10 feet is greenish, stiff, plastic, residual clay, in which 
are fragments of partially silicified limestone. This limestone con¬ 
tains corals, an oyster, and other fossils characteristic of the Chatta¬ 
hoochee formation. FTo trace of the Vicksburg formation was ob¬ 
served, and it is inferred that it has dipped beneath the river level 
above this point. 

GRADY COUNTY 

Whigham. —At Forest Falls, better known locally as Limesink, 
eight miles north of Whigham, nearly 100 feet of strata are exposed. 
This section and that at Faceville have been of great value in de¬ 
ciphering the stratigraphy of southwestern Georgia, and have been 
employed to a certain extent in field work as standards of compari¬ 
son for poorer exposures at other localities. The lime-sink at this 
locality has a depth of 90 to 100 feet below the level of the surround- 


1 6eol. Survey of Georgia Bull. No. 5-A. p. 52. 





CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


335 


mg land. Into it a small stream flows over a crest, approximately 70 
teet above the bottom of the sink, producing a picturesque waterfall. 

I his locality was described by Prof. McCallie 1 in 1896, but 
the stratigraphic position of the beds was not discussed. 

Section at Forest Falls. 


Pliocene? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Red, yellow and gray sand, mottled near the sur¬ 
face. The sand contains brown iron oxide con¬ 
cretions, and greenish, “gummy” clay at the 
base . 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

5. Greenish, plastic sandy clay, contains concretions 

of silica and fragments of bones. 

4. t Yellow or buff calcareous and fossiliferous clay. 
The stratum is hard, and contains veinlets and 
minute geodes of calcite. 

Chattahoochee and Vicksburg formations ? 

(Crest of falls.) 

3. Calcareous clay grading into compact argillaceous, 

sandy limestone. 

2. Hard limestone having the conglomeratic appear¬ 
ance of some of the rock at Faceville and Wylie 

Landing . 

1. Very hard crystalline limestone, massive bedded. 
Parts of the bed are oolitic. 


Feet. 


10 to 20 


10 

5 

27 

3 

35 


Divisions 5 and 6 are exposed in a gully entering the sink from the 

north. 


Section from the ci'est of 


the falls to head of the small creek flowing 
into the sink. 


Feet 

Pliocene? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

4. Red and yellow sand containing thin laminae of 

clay . 10 to 20 

(Unconformity.) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

3. Greenish or gray sandy clay .. 15 to 20 

2. Soft, calcareous sandstone containing few fossils 
argillaceous compact sand containing nodules 

of calcareous sand. 8 

1. Indurated buff and greenish argillaceous sand 
veined with calcite and containing minute calcite 
crystals and geodes; base at crest of falls . . 5 


Fossil swere collected by the writers and submitted to Dr. 
Vaughan, who placed the following interpretation upon the strata: 


Whosphates and marls of Georgia: Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 5-A, p. 55. 












336 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Fossils from Forest Falls. 

Fossils from the base of the first section given. Orbitoides mantelli 
Morton, Pecten perplanus Morton. 

Horizon: Vicksburg 

Fossils from 20 feet above base of the same section, Orbitoides. 

Horizon: Chattahoochee? 

Fossils from layer No. 2 in the second section given Gonipora sp. 

Turritella, and 1 other gastropods, Pecten sayanus Dali. 

Horizon: Alum Bluff. 

No erosion unconformity was observed except the one separating 
the Alum Bluff formation from the overlying Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette ?) formation. The dense, crystalline limestone at the base of the 
sections seems to pass into the calcareous clay of the Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation without a perceptible break in the sedimentation. Fossil* 
iferous flint such as characterized the base of the Chattahoochee in the 
vicinity of Bainbridge was not observed. 

Bay Sink, three miles northwest of Forest Falls, is about 40 feet 
deep, and both limestone and flint are exposed near the bottom of 
the sink. The limestone is hard crystalline and closely resembles the 
basal rock at Forest Falls. The flint is evidently due to a silicifica- 
tion of this limestone. Orbitoides Pecten , and a coral were noted. 
According to Dr. Vaughan, the horizon here is in the Chattahoochee 
formation. 

There are numerous other localities in the northern part of Grady 
County where limestones and flint of the Chattahoochee formation 
are exposed. At Little Limesink, three and one-half miles north¬ 
east of Forest Falls, 30 feet of limestone similar, in lithologic ap¬ 
pearance to the limestone at Forest Falls is overlain by greenish, 
sandy clays of the Alum Bluff formation. 

Ochlockonee River. —A limestone, which probably belongs to the 
Chattahoochee formation, was found at Bishop Bluff, 13 miles south¬ 
east of Whigham, a short distance above the State line. The rock is 
poorly exposed and appears at only one point. It is a hard, buff- 
colored, argillaceous limestone veined with calcite, and having a sim¬ 
ilar lithologic appearance to some of the limestone phases at Face- 
ville and Forest Falls. The rock outcrops in a bluff about 10 feet 
above the river. 

THOMAS COUNTY 

Original Pond and other localities. —Original Pond is located in 
the southern part of Thomas County, three miles west of MetcalL 
The pond is due to a limesink and covers an area of about two acres. 
About 25 feet of limestone is exposed at the western end of the pond. 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXIV. 



A. EXPOSURE OF LIMESTONE OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION AT 
STONY LAKE BLUFF, WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER, SEVEN MILES 
SOUTHEAST OF QUITMAN, BROOKS COUNTY. 



B. 


-POSHTRF OF CHVTTAHOOCHEE LIMESTONE IN BANK OF WITHLA¬ 
COOCHEE RIVER NEW BRIDGE (OR HORN BRIDGE) THREE MILES 
BELOW THE VALDOSTA SOUTHERN RAILROAD BRIDGE, 

LOWNDES COUNTY. 




























































































































































































CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


337 


The lower 10 feet of the limestone is hard, brittle, brecciated, and 
vesicular, presenting a rough, jagged surface. The breccia consists 
of angular fragments of hard, dense, homogeneous limestone in a 
matrix of dull gray, porous limestone. There is a distinct difference 
between the color and texture of the angular fragments and the mat¬ 
rix, but both are comparatively pure calcium-carbonate. The breccia 
fragments are cream-colored or white, exceedingly fine-grained, homo¬ 
genous, and break with a sharp, angular, conchoidal fracture; they 
have much the same texture as lithographic limestone. The prob¬ 
able explanation of the breccia is that as the rock consisted of alter¬ 
nate bands of dense, fine-grained limestone and more porous, earthy 
limestone, the sinking of the rock consequent from underground solu¬ 
tion caused fracturing and resulted in the brecciated condition. 
There is no evidence that the fragments have been transported. In¬ 
cipient silication of the fine-grained limestone has taken place and 
specimens representing moss agate in the process of formation were 
obtained. 

The upper 15 feet of the exposure is dull-white, chalky limestone, 
less indurated than the lower rock. Foraminifera and other fossils 
are abundant. The slope of the hill above the limestone is strewn 
with fragments of phosphatic sandstone, probably weathered from the 
sandy clays of the Alum Bluff formation. The highest hills in this 
vicinity are 80 to 90 feet above the level of the pond. 

The fossils observed were: numerous small Orbitoides, small gas¬ 
tropods, Area, Grlycymeris, Pecten, a small oyster, and corals. A 
large silicified coral, Siderastrea, not in place, was found. Dr. 
Vaughan identified from this locality: Orbicella cavernosa (Linn), 
and Orthaulax pugnax Heilprin. 

Limestone similar to that at Original Pond occurs on the McIntyre 
plantation, five miles west of Metcalf, and 11% miles south of 
Thomasville on the Thomasville-Tallahassee road. An exposure of 
15 feet may be seen. This is hard, fine-grained, and brittle at the 
base, becoming soft and chalky at the top of the exposure. The soil 
above the limestone is red, sandy clay, strewn with fragments of sili¬ 
ceous concretions and fragments of phosphatic sandstones. Lying 
above the limestone there are about 40 feet of strata that belong to 
Alum Bluff formation. Greenish clay and brown sand, probably 
representing the base of the Alum Bluff formation were observed di¬ 
rectly above the limestone in a gully along the public road. Speci¬ 
mens of Ostrea mauricensis occur in this clay. 

Another exposure of the limestone of the Chattahoochee formation 
occurs at the old Copeland plantation, nine miles west of Metcalf, 
near the State line. Two or three feet of the rock is exposed at the 


338 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


site of an old limekiln. It appears in every way similar to the lime¬ 
stone at McIntyre plantation and at Original Pond. The limestone 
occurs at the base of a hill, while on the slope above it there are frag¬ 
ments of flint and phosphatic sandstone. 

Boston .—Limestone was observed at the abandoned phosphate pits 
three miles west of Boston, and at the Mitchell plantation six miles 
west of Boston. The character of the fossils, the lithologic appear¬ 
ance, geographic location, and stratigraphic relations, indicate that 
it probably belongs to the Chattahoochee formation. 

At the old Toy phosphate pit three miles west of Boston, there are, 
at the base of the hill, poor exposures of limestone overlain by 30 or 
40 feet of clay and sands, and some thin, interbedded, sandstone 
layers. The base of the hill is strewn with fragments of white flint, 
of hard, white to cream-colored limestone, and phosphatic nodules. 
The limestone has been largely silicified. A small Orbitoides (Chat¬ 
tahoochee species), a Pecten, and other fossils suggesting the Chat¬ 
tahoochee formation were observed. An oyster, which is probably 
Ostrea mauricensis, occurs in the overlying greenish, sandy clays. 
The overlying material is regarded as the equivalent of the Alum 
Blufl formation. 

The limestone at this locality was studied in 1890 by Spencer 1 and 
was referred to “Middle Miocene/ The locality was subsequently 
visited by McCallie 2 and upon the basis of “numerous orbitolites” 
the rock was considered as probably the equivalent of the “White 
Limestone” of the upper Eocene (Vicksburg). 

Limestone is exposed in a sink one-half mile north of the public * 
road on the Mitchell plantation, six miles west of Boston. Onl} 
five or six feet of the limestone is exposed; it is a grayish or brown¬ 
ish compact limestone and in places has a conglomeratic appearance. 

It was formerly used in the manufacture of lime. Some of the par- 
tially burned limestone, when rubbed or struck with the hammer, 
gives off a pungent odor similar to that of hydrogen sulphide. On 
the whole the rock is similar to that exposed on the McIntyre plan¬ 
tation south of Thomasville. The fossils observed were Orbitoides, 
a Pecten, and poor specimens of gastropods and pelecypods. The 
overlying strata are not exposed. 

There is a second sink about one-quarter of a mile south of the 
road but no natural exposures of limestone occur. There are a few 
large boulders of quartzitic, slightly phosphatic clay breccia or con¬ 
glomerate. These probably belong to the Alum Bluff formation 
which directly overlies the limestone. 


*First Report of Progress: Geol. Survey of Georgia. 1890-1891, p. 82. 
2 Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 5-A, 1896, p. 60. 



CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


339 


OTHER LOCALITIES. 

Withlacoochee River. —-What is probably the northern-most ex¬ 
posure of the Chattahoochee formation on this river appears at 
Stony Lake, five and one-half miles southeast of Quitman. Limestone 
js exposed for about one-half mile along the west bank of the river and 
rises four or five feet above low water. 

r 

Section of the Bluff at Stony Lake. 

Pleistocene. 

3. Gray and brown incoherent sand . 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

2. Drab and white, semi-indurated fullers earth 
Chattahoochee formation. 

1. Limestone and marl. 

The limestone is white or gray,—in places yellowish, argillaceous, 
very hard, non-crystalline, and in places bears numerous fossils. 
The bed of the river is strewn with fossiliferous chalcedony frag¬ 
ments that represent a silicification of the limestone. At one point 
along the bluff soft, marly clay and sand, one or two feet thick, con¬ 
taining Pecten, an echinoid, Orhitoides, and pieces of bones were ob¬ 
served. This soft layer seems to mark a transition from the lime¬ 
stone to the fullers earth. No evidence of an unconformity between 
the Alum Bluff and Chattahoochee formations was observed. 

Impure, very sandy, and argillaceous limestones’ are found along 
Withlacoochee River above Stony Lake, but are regarded as phases of 
the Alum Bluff rather than of the Chattahoochee formation. Near 
Olympia, a short distance north of the Georgia-Florida State line, 
limestones typical of the Chattahoochee formation, appear in the 
•bluffs and channels of the river. 

Sections on Withlacoochee River at New Bridge three miles below the 
Valdosta-Southern Railway bridge. 

Feet 

Pleistocene. 

4. Yellow, sandy clay.5 

Oligocene. 

Chattahoochee formation. 

3. Layer of silicified coral, some specimens as much as a foot 

in diameter. 1 

2. Soft, white, or cream colored limestone.7 

1. White, compact, pure limestone containing OrMtoides and 

other fossils.8 

The limestone is prominent on both sides of the river and may be 
seen at considerable depths beneath water-level. From this locality 


Feet 
. 20 

. 14 
. 4 









340 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Orbitoides complanata > Cyphastrea, Orbicella cavernosa 9 and Sider- 
astrea , have been identified by Dr. Vaughan. Near Olympia, a foot 
or two of white, compact limestone, apparently residual, may be seen 
at low water, overlain by a bluish sandy clay containing chalcedonic 
corals. 

Allapaha River. —Limestone of the Chattahoochee formation^was 
not observed above Statenville. A short distance below Statenville 
the limestone rises to 10 or 12 feet above the river. The Chattahoo¬ 
chee formation below Statenville consists' of sandy and argillaceous 
compact limestone and some phosphatic conglomerate or phosphate 
pebbles in a calcareous matrix. It is overlain by unconsolidated, 
phosphatic sand and greenish, sandy clay. The formation is poorly 
fossiliferous, an echinoid being the only identifiable fossil except 
fragments of bones and sharks teeth. • 

Rock House, Crisp County. —This locality is five miles southeast 
of Cordele, and probably is an isolated occurrence of limestone of 
the Chattahoochee formation. The locality was called to our atten¬ 
tion through a reference to it by Dr. R. M. Harper. 1 

The appearance of the limestone here is due to a sink as it is else¬ 
where concealed by the Alum Bluff and Altamaha formations. The 
section follows: 

Section five miles southeast of Cordele. 

Feet 

Pliocene? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

5. A thickness of 30 or 40 feet, not well exposed; red sandy, 
and mottled clay containing a few quartz pebbles, ap¬ 


pears in places. 40 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

4. Massive, weathered, greenish and drab clay. 11 

3. White, sandy clay, partly silicified and indurated .... 6 

2. Grayish, very sandy clay. 10 

Chattahoochee formation. 


1. Massive, argillaceous limestone; contains Orbitoides com¬ 
planata, the common Chattahoochee species, Pecten, 
and small'gastropods. The clay and the limestone are 
not sharply separated. 12 

Ocmulgee River. —It is not improbable that the Chattahoochee 
formation is represented near Hawkinsville and Abbeville. In a 
bluff, one-half mile below Hawkinsville, Dr. Vaughan has idem 
tified Alveopora and Amauropsis, and suggests that the Chattahoo¬ 
chee formation is present. A coral was found in flint at Poor Robin 
Spring near Abbeville. 

1 Phytogeographical sketch of the Altamaha grit region of Georgia: Annals New 
York Acad. Sci., Nov. 1906, p. 17. 







CHATTAHOOCHEE FORMATION 


341 


Milieu , Jenkins County .—There is a small area underlain by 
limestone north of Milieu. Natural exposures of the rock are rare, 
but its presence near the surface is indicated by the flat topography 
and occasional limesinks. 

At Magnolia Spring, six miles north of Millen, a soft, yellow, 
marly limestone is exposed. An exposure, three feet thick, also oc¬ 
curs at a mill one mile south of the spring. The only fossils are 
bryozoans and a small, ribbed Pecten which has not been specificially 
identified. 

On the Alexander Murphy place, nine miles northwest of Millen, 
limestone has been thrown from a well. The rock is white, fine¬ 
grained, sandy and rather hard. It contains a small Pecten and 
other poorly preserved fossils. 

The age of the rocks exposed at the three preceding localities is 
in doubt. There are only a few exposures and the materials are 
poorly fossiliferous. Lithologically, the materials are unlike those 
of either the Claiborne group or Vicksburg formation, although from 
their geographic positions they might be referred to either of these. 
They are overlain by clays resembling those of the Altamaha and 
Alum Bluff formations. The rocks bear some lithologic resemblance 
to the limestones of the Chattahoochee formation, to which they are 
tentatively referred. 

Jacksonboro, Screven County .—An exposure of limestone occurs 
on Briar Creek near the site of old Jacksonboro, about eight miles 
northeast of Sylvania, Screven County. n This is one of the classic 
geologic localities of Georgia, yet only one natural exposure of the 
limestone has been found, and its distribution as a surface formation 
is insignificant. Sir Charles Lvell, who visited the locality in 1842, 
regarded the strata as of Eocene age. Dr. W. B. Clark 1 studied the 
fauna and expressed the opinion that it was probably Neocene in 
age. Dr. W. H. Dali 2 also discussed the age of the formation and 
expressed an opinion in favor of an early Miocene age. Dr. T. 
Wayland Vaughan in 1902 made a careful study of Ly ell's locality, 
collected a number of fossils, and prepared a list of them which, 
clearly showed their Oligocene age. Dr. Dali incorporated Dr. 
Vaughan's results in his a Tertiary fauna of Florida," 3 stating: 

“The locality was again visited by Doctor Vaughan in 1902 and more 
material obtained, leaving no reasonable doubt that the Jacksonboro horizon 
is practically that of the Tampa limestone or Orbitolites bed of Florida.” 

The following are the fossils identified by Dr. Vaughan from the 
Jacksonboro locality: 


mull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 83, p. 55. 

*Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 84, p. 83. 

*Trans. Wagner Free Inst. Sci., vol. 3, pt. 6, 1903, p. 1573. 



342 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Fossils from Jacksonboro, Screven County. 


Orbitoides, small flattish species. 

Actaeonina ? n. sp. 

Bulla petrosa Conrad. Also Tampa. 

Bulla 3 other species. 

Pleurotoma servata Conrad. The va¬ 
riety found at Chipola. 

Pleurotoma ? sp. 

Drillia sp. 

Olivella ? sp. 

Marginella sp. Large species, 4 
columella folds. 

Mitra probably new. 

Pyrazisinus cornutus Hpn ? Also 
Tampa. 

Pyrazisinus 2 other species, probably 
new. 

Cerithium georgianum Lyell and 
Sowerby. 

Cerithium playtynema Dail. (Also 
Tampa.) 


Cerithium n. sp. (Also Wakulla, Fla., 
Tampa horizon.) 

Modulus turbinatus Heilprin. Also 
Tampa. 

Acmaea n. sp. 

Turritella tampae Dali var. (Also 
Tampa.) 

Strombus albirupianas Dali. 
Calyptraea aperta (Sol.) 

Xenophora humilis Conrad. 

Ampullina streptostoma Heilprin. 

Types from Tampa. 

Amauropsis ocalana Dali. Also from 
Ocala limestone and Chipola. 
Fissuridea sp. 

Dentalium mississippiense Conrad. 
Pecten sp. Apparently new. 

Mytilus n. sp. 

Chamalyelli. Dali. 


ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


NAME; 


The name Alum Bluff is applied to all the strata lying between 
the top of the Chattahoochee formation and the base of the Miocene. 
These strata are the equivalent of the Alum Bluff formation of 
Florida, as recently defined, and as the formation is physically con¬ 
tinuous from Florida into Georgia the use of the term is naturally 
extended to Georgia. 

The formation was first studied on Apalachicola River at Alum 
Bluff, 25 miles below River Junction, Fla. The section at Alum 
Bluff was described in 1889 by D. W. Langdon 1 and the beds r( 3 - 
ferred to the Miocene without differentiation. The name, Alum 
Bluff, used for a geologic division or formation, was first employed 
by Dr. W. H. Dali. 2 The succession at Alum Bluff as given by 
Dali 3 is as follows: 


Section at Alum Bluff. 


6. Yellow, unfossiliferous sand. 70 

5. Lignitic sand.. . ! . . 10 

4. Ecphora bed. ..... 20 

3. Alum Bluff beds.. ! ! ! 15 

2. Marl (Chipola) .! ! . ! ! 5 

1. Chattahoochee limestone (?).* 


The Alum Bluff formation, as described recently by Matson and 


a Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 38, p. 324. 
2 Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 84, 1892, p 122 
8 0p cit., p. 113. 









ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


343 


Clapp 1 includes more strata than was originally included by Dali, 
as the Chipola marl is considered a member of the Alum Bluff form¬ 
ation. As now used in Florida, the term embraces all the beds lying 
between the Chattahoochee formation and the Miocene. 

The divisions of the upper Oligocene, Parachucla and Combahee, 
made by Sloan 2 on Savannah River, are the stratigraphic representa¬ 
tives of the Alum Bluff formation, and their use is not continued in 
the present report. 

DEFINITION 


Stratigraphic relations .—The Alum Bluff formation conformably 
overlies the Chattahoochee formation; the exact contact between 
the two is in places drawn arbitrarily, since there is neither an abrupt 
lithological nor faunal change from one to the other. There may be 
apparent unconformities due to solution and weathering of the Chat¬ 
tahoochee limestone near the contact. On Savannah and Altamaha 
rivers the Oligocene is separated from the overlying Miocene by an 
erosion unconformity, perhaps of minor importance. Throughout 
the greater part of the area underlain by the Alum Bluff formation 
the Miocene is absent, and the Alum Bluff is overlain unconform - 
ably by the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation, with which it may, 
in places, be confused on account of a similarity in appearance when 
weathered. 


Lithologic characters .—The Alum Bluff formation presents a num¬ 
ber of different lithologic phases; these include coarse, angular sand, 
coarse-grained, aluminous sandstone or grit, sandy clay, fullers earth, 
phosphatic sand, quartzites, sandstones, silicified clays, and local lime¬ 
stones or calcareous layers and nodules. Greenish or gray, argilla¬ 
ceous sands, and sandy, laminated clays, form the greater portion of 
the formation. 

Beds of fullers earth occur in the formation both in Georgia and 
in Florida. The fullers earth is generally a gray or drab, faintly 
laminated, clay-like earth of low specific gravity. The earth is usu¬ 
ally semi-hard and brittle, and in many places silicification has gone 
on to such an extent that the earth is very hard and rock-like, and no 
longer has the properties of fullers earth. Segregations of silica in 
the form of small, round, or flattened nodules is characteristic. The 
fullers earth beds do not attain any considerable thickness and a^e 
not persistent over large areas but appear to be local phases in sands 
and sandy clays. Greenish and drab, sticky, plastic clays, and ar¬ 
gillaceous sands, are associated with the fullers earth beds. 

o 7 


*Second Ann. Pept. Geol. Survey of Florida, 1909. p. 91. 

2 Cataloguo of Mineral Localities of South Carolina: Geol. Survey of South Caro¬ 
lina, ser. 4, Bull. No. 2, 1908, p. 2 <3. 



344 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


On Allapaha and Suwanee Rivers are phosphatic sands’ which 
are believed to lie directly above the Chattahoochee formation. 
Sands of the Alum Bluff formation on Savannah River are also 
slightly phosphatic. These sands are generally unconsolidated, ov 
only slightly indurated, are sometimes coarse-grained, even contain¬ 
ing small pebbles, and often display crossbedding. They consist 
largely of quartz; the phosphate is in the form of small, brown or 
black, slick, water-worn pieces of bones and teeth, varying in size 
from a pin-head to one-half or three-fourths of an inch in diameter. 
A small amount of clay is generally present and the sands, in a 
number of places, are calcareous and contain calcareous, phosphatic 
nodules. The chemical analysis 1 of a sample of sand from the Su¬ 
wanee River, nine miles below Fargo, showed 16.80 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid (P* Os). 

The clay and fullers earth phases of the formation have in places 
been silicified to such an extent that they have been converted into 
very hard claystones, and the argillaceous sands have become dense, 
virtreous, and brittle quartzites; clay breccias and conglomerates 
have likewise been silicified. In fact greater or less degrees of al¬ 
teration of the rocks by silica carried in solution by circulating 
waters has been extensive. Opal and agate occur in places as a re¬ 
sult of this silicification. 

Samples of the silicified clays from Withlacoochee River, seven 
miles east of Quitman, were examined in the laboratory. They 
vary from bluish to light greenish and dove color, are hard, brittle, 
and break with a conchoidal fracture; the rock is dense and com¬ 
pact, and cracks are filled with opaline silica. Some of these rocks 
are slightly phosphatic. There are phases which might be termed 
opalized clay conglomerates or breccias; originally, this conglomeratic 
rock consisted of fragments of clay, either pebbles of clay or angular 
fragments, in a matrix of very sandy, lighter-colored clay or argil¬ 
laceous sand, the matrix often containing oyster shells. By the in¬ 
filtration of opaline silica, the rock has become dense, compact, 
and in places vitreous or glassy to such an extent that the sand grains 
are no longer recognizable. The clay is about 3 in the scale of hard¬ 
ness and it requires a strong blow with the hammer to break it. The 
lime of the oyster shells has’ been replaced by silica, and they are 
opalized and agatized. 

In Grady, Brooks and Thomas counties thin beds of white sand¬ 
stone, usually soft, were noted. These sandstones are associated 
with sandy clays and are often phosphatic, the phosphate forming, in 
part, the cementing agent. 


*By Dr. Edgar Everhart, Chemist Geological Survey of Georgia. 



ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


345 


1 hickness. —The maximum thickness of the Alum Bluff forma¬ 
tion in southwestern Georgia is estimated to be 150 feet. At no 
known locality can the full thickness of the formation be seen in a 
natural exposure; the estimate here given is based upon the record 
of a deep well at \ aldosta. Samples from the depths of 150 and 176 
feet in this well bore a close resemblance to the indurated fullers 
earth of the Alum Bluff formation, and limestone, probably of the 
Chattahoochee formation, was encountered at 186 feet. No natural 
exposures revealing a thickness of strata more than 40 .or 50 feet were 
seen. Judging from the record of the Wavcross well, it is probable 
that the Alum Bluff formation at this point is as much as 250 feet 
thick. At Lumber City, in Telfair County, there is some probability 
that the Alum Bluff formation is as much as 200 or 300 feet thick. 
The natural exposures on Savannah Rived do not exceed 25 or 30 feet. 

Pcdeontologic characters. —’The formation is, on the whole, poorly 
fossiliferous. The clays and sands generally Contain o'nly poorly 
preserved casts and impressions. Doctor Vaughan obtained a num¬ 
ber of species, listed on a subsequent page, in the vicinity of Bain- 
bridge, and a well preserved oyster, Ostrea mauricensis, is found at 
a number of localities. The formation seems to mark the disappear¬ 
ance of the species of Orhitoides which are so common in the Vicks¬ 
burg and Chattahoochee formation. On Savannah River the rare 
fossil, Carolia floridana, and Pecten sayanus have been found in this 
formation. 

Areal Distribution. —The Alum Bluff formation underlies a large 
area in Georgia, extending from Decatur County northeastward to 
Savannah River; the northern limit of sedimentation during the 
Alum Bluff period is approximately marked by Cordele, Abbeville, 
Dublin, Millen, and Sylvania. No evidence of its occurrence north 
of* these points has been found. Southward or southeastward from 
these points it is highly probable that the whole of the Coastal Plain 
is underlain by this formation. Througout most of this area, how¬ 
ever, it has been covered by later sediments, and natural exposures 
are largely confined to bluffs of rivers. 

It is the surface formation, and it influences the soil and topogra¬ 
phy over a large part of Decatur, Grady, Thomas, Brooks, Lowndes 
and Echols counties. Exposures appear in the bluffs of Ocmulgse 
and Altamaha rivers from near Abbeville to Doctortown. Alum 
Bluff strata may occur along Ogeechee River, but this' has not been 
proven by paleontologic evidence. On Savannah River, the Alum 

1 Well record Underground waters of Georgia: Bull Geol. Survey of Georgia, No. 
15, 1»08. p. 172. 



346 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Bluff formation is believed to extend from near Hudson’s Landing to 
Porter’s Landing in Screven County. 

Physiographic expression .—The area over which the Alum Bluff 
formation is the surface formation, is small, although a distinctive 
topography has been produced by its erosion and weathering in the 
southern part of the State. In the southeastern part of Decatur and 
the southern parts of Grady, Thomas, Brooks and Lowndes counties, 
the Alum Bluff formation, together with the Chattahoochee formation, 
has produced a topography more broken and hilly than that of the Al- 
tamaha region to the north. This topography is due, in part, to the 
argillaceous and sandy character of the Alum Bluff formation. The 
formation is easily eroded and the numerous lime sinks of the region 
have given an impetus to this erosion. 

Structure .—The Alum Bluff formation has a very low southward 
and southeastward dip, certainly much less than the older Eocene 
and Vicksburg formations. On Savannah Biver, the dip does not 
exceed four or five feet per mile, and near the Florida line the beds 
must lie almost horizontally, since the streams have cut through them 
exposing the underlying formations. No evidence of broad flexures, 
or even minor folding and faulting was observed in the natural ex¬ 
posures of the strata. However, the probability of a broad arch ex¬ 
isting in the southern part of the State has been mentioned in con¬ 
nection with the discussion of the drainage, and general structure of 
the Coastal Plain strata. (See pages 63-65.) 

Economic geology .—The Alum Bluff formation contains beds of 
fullers earth which, locally, are sufficiently free from sand and sil¬ 
iceous concretions to be of ^commercial value. Fullers earth mining 
has been carried on at Attapulgus, Decatur County, for several years, 
and a good quality of earth for clarifying mineral oils is produced. 
The Attapulgus earth is very similar to that at Quincy, Fla. Brief 
descriptions of the deposit at Attapulgus have been published by 
Vaughan 1 and Veatch 2 . The prospects are favorable for finding 
commercial deposits in Decatur, Grady, Thomas and Brooks 
counties. 

Sands containing a considerable percentage of phosphoric acid 
(P* * OQ were observed along the lower courses of Suwanee and AL 
lapaha rivers, and these may prove to be of some value in the future 
as low grade phosphates. 

The clays, while on the whole poorly adapted for burned clay- 
products, may be of some local value for common building brick. 

Waughan. T. W., Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. No. 213 1903, pp. 392-399. 

*Veatch, Otto, Clay deposits of Georgia, Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. 18, 1909, pp. 



ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


347 


LOCAL DETAILS 

Baidbridge, Decatur County .—The following are notes by Dr. 
, ail §^ ian 011 localities southeast of Bainbridge, at Roseland planta¬ 
tion, “Gastropod Gully” on the Bowers land, and on the Dickson 
farm, in Decatur County. Lists of fossils from the first two localities 
are furnished. “Gastropod Gully” was named by Dr. A. F. Foerste* 
who made a study of the beds and referred them to the Chipola of 
Florida. 

“Campbell Hill, Roseland plantation. —The hill is composed of reddish 
and yellowish, residual sands. At the northeast corner of the hill, imme¬ 
diately west of a small ravine, a pile of yellowish, reddish, or whitish, 
siliceous sandstone, rich in fossils, was found. The fossils collected here 
belong to the same horizon as thore in Judge Bowers’ and Sam Dickson’s 
fields. Some 20 or more species of mollusks were collected and listed as 
follows: 


List of fossils from Campbell Hill Roseland Plantation. 


Pleurotoma servata Conrad ? 
Pleurotoma 

Fulgur spiniger Conrad 

Melongena 

Latirus? 

Nassa 
Astyris ? 

Astyris ? 

Bittium 
Serpulorbis ? 


Crucibulum auricula Gmelin 
Natica alticallosa Dali. 
Omphalius exoletus Conrad. 
Fissuridea sp. 

Area staminata Dali ? 

Area sp. 

Spisula sp. 

Strigilla sp. 

Venus sp. 

Carditamera sp. 


Gastropod Gully , Bowers' Land. This gully is on Judge Bowers’ land, 
east of Roseland plantation. It is 12 to 15 feet deep with almost perpendi¬ 
cular walls. The sides are composed of yellowish sands and of bluish clayey 
sands blotched with yellow. Bits of siliceous material are common and resi¬ 
dual pieces of usually yellowish apparently silicified sandstones are abun¬ 
dant. Near the head of the gully it is shallower, and the residual sand¬ 
stone is strewn promiscuously over the surface. Most of the fossils were 
found here. The gully is only about two hundred yards long. 

Gastropod Gully is therefore, according to aneroid barometer readings,, 
85 feet above the level of Bainbridge at Hotel Wainman. 


List of fossils from southeastern corner of Bowers' field, Foerste's Gastropod 


Gully 

Conus (probably planiceps Heilprin) 

Pleurotoma 

Marginella 

Turbinella ? 

Fulgur spiniger Conrad 
Mazzalina ? 

Melongena 

Murex 

Nassa (Chippola species) 

Latirus ? 

Bittium 

Turritella indenta var. mixta Dali. 
Turritella alcida Dali. 

Turritella 2 other species 
Solarium granulatum var. chipo- 
lanum Dali. 


locality. 

Crepidula 

Crucibulum auricula Gml 
Natica alticallosa Dali. 

Fissuridea 

(2 undetermined gastropods). 

Area staminata Dali. 

Area santa rosana Dali. 

Pecten chipolanus Dali. 

Spondylus ? 

Carolia (probably floridana Dali). 
Mactra (Spisula) sp. 

Mactra ? 

Strigilla (related to flexuosa Say). 
Tellina (Angulus). 


1 Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. 16, October 1893, pp. 245-254. 



348 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“Sam Dickson's farm, six miles southeast of Bainbridge. . In a field 
across a small branch, on the south side of the road, are numerous boulders 
containing fossils. The material was originally a limestone but has been 
altered to a chert; it is yellowish in color, or occassionaliy reddish, and is 
similar to that found in the Bowers pasture. These boulders are residual 
masses left in yellowish or whitish sands. The fossils are poor casts or 
siliceous replacements and are the same as those found in the Bowers pasture. 
A small collection was made. The horizon is in the Alum Bluff formation.” 

Climax, Decatur County. —In the vicinity of Climax, are a num¬ 
ber of exposures of gray, fine-grained, clayey sands, and greenish, 
plastic, sandy clays which are probably referable to the Alum Bluff 
formation. 

A section of much stratigraphic interest is revealed in. the cuts 
of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and an adjacent gully three- 
quarters of a mile west of Climax. The lower part of this section, 
from the level of the branch to the level of the track, consists of 
gray or greenish, laminated, sandy clays, and greenish or bluish 
clayey sands, considered referable to the Alum Bluff formation. 
They contain no fossils, and their stratigraphic position is inferred 
from their lithologic character, geographic position, and relation 
to the overlying formation. The section of this exposure given 
below has been furnished by Dr. Vaughan, and it will be further 
discussed in connection with the description of the Altahama (La¬ 
fayette t) formation. 

Exposure on north side of railroad, one mile west of Climax, from 
about twenty feet below to thirty feet above the level 
of the railroad. 

Pliocene ? Feet In. 

Altamaha formation. 

15. Soil and humus. 5 

14. Yellow sand, some small gravel. 5 

13. Mottled sands and clay. 5 

12. Sands and some clay, showing stratification dis¬ 
tinctly, whitish, yellowish, reddish, upper 20 
feet crossbeded and ferruginous sandstane ... 25 

Oiigocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

11. Clays blotched reddish (about two feet below level of 


railroad) . . . 

10. Stratified sands and clay, blotched red. 6 

9. Stiff clay, blotched red. 

8. Whitish sands with seams of clay. 3 

7. Stiff blue clay, blotched red. 4 

6. Finely laminated sand and clay... 2 


5. Bluish clay resembling fullers earth, specimen col¬ 
lected, about. 1 

4. Whitish sands. 3 6 

3. Clay similar to No. 1, some of which resembles ful¬ 
lers earth. 2 6 

2. Whitish sand, a little clay. 6 9 

1. Fine, sandy, bluish clay. 1 6 
















ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


349 


The lower portion of the section to No. 10, inclusive, was measured; 
the remainder was estimated and then checked by aneroid.” 

At Mashburn Hill, four miles north of Climax, approximately 
60 feet of clays' and sands are exposed which are here referred to 
the Alum Bluff formation. The bed consists of greenish, plastic, 
and very sandy clays, showing little stratification, in places 
thin interbedded layers of pure white sand. They are 1 fine-grained, 
are free from pebbles, and contain white, irregularly-shaped, and 
flattened nodules of silica. They are overlain by yellow, argillace¬ 
ous sand, containing black iron oxide concretions, evidently a 
product of weathering. The underlying clays and sands have been 
previously described by Yeatch 1 as the Altamaha (Lafayette?) for¬ 
mation, but the detailed study of the Alum Bluff formation subse¬ 
quently undertaken has lead to the belief that they are referable 
to the Alum Bluff formation. This conclusion is reached on the 
basis of lithologic character. 

Attapulgus, Decatur County .—Attapulgus is located 13 miles 
south of Bainbridge, Decatur County. There are a number of 
exposures of sandy clays and fullers earth, which belong to the Alum 
Bluff formation. The fullers earth is of commercial value and is 
being mined. It has been described by Dr. Vaughan, 2 and the 
chemical and physical properties of both the clay and fullers earth 
have been described by Yeatch. 3 

The pit of the Lester Clay Company, when visited in October, 
1908, showed: 

Section at pit of Lester Clay Company. 


Age ? Feet 

4. Red, sandy clay covering slope. ? 

Alum Bluff formation. 

3. Stiff, tenacious, structureless clay apparently residual. 6 to 10 

2. Fullers earth. 6 to 10 

1. Hard, greenish or drab, argillaceous sandstone ... 7 


The fullers earth presents very little structure; it is faintly lami¬ 
nated, the lines of stratification appearing only when the earth is 
dry. It is jointed and scales of manganese oxide often appear along 
the cracks. When moist, the earth is dull olive green in color, and 
slick or unctuous to the touch; when dry, it is white and brittle. 
It is distinguished from the greenish clays of the Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation by its low specific gravity, and high porosity; when dry it 
adheres strongly to the tongue. 


1 Geol. Surv. of Ga.. Bull. 18, p. 316. 

-T\ S. Geol. Surv.. Bull. No. 213. p. 392. 

3 Geol. Surv. of Ga.. Bull. No. 18. pp. 317-318. 





350 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


The section revealed in the public road leading east from the 
station is: 

Section in 'public road east of Attapulgus station. 


Feet 

Age ? 

4. Red sand, in places argillaceous, capping the ridge ... 15 
Alum Bluff formation. 

3. Plastic, greenish clay.4 

2. Gray, very sandy clay.» . . . , 15 

1. Bluish and greenish, stiff plastic clay.15 


The red sand layer, No. 4, probably bolongs to the Altamaha 
(Lafayette?) formation. 

In the railroad cut, one mile south of Attapulgus station, there 
is four feet of white or gray, very sandy claystone or sandstone, 
which contains' poorly preserved fossils; this is overlain by a thin 
bed of shaly, brittle fullers earth and plastic clay, and probably 
represents the sandy bed observed in the bottom of the fullers earth 
pit. 

Wliigham and Cairo, Grady County. —The topography in the 
vicinity of these towns is broken and there are a number of ex¬ 
posures where the character of the Alum Bluff and its relations to 
the overlying Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation may be seen. The 
Alum Bluff formation consists mainly of greenish or gray, sandy, 
massive clays, thin beds of fullers earth, and gray and white phos- 
phatic sandstones. 

In a cut one mile east of Whigham, a bed of light greenish clay, 
somewhat in the nature of fullers earth, is overlain by orange-col¬ 
ored sands, and clays and sands alternately stratified. The clay 
bed shows some slight crumpling. It probably represents the Alum 
Bluff formation, while the overlying sands belong to the Altamaha 
(Lafayette ?) formation. 

The conformable relations of the Alum Bluff formation to the 
Chattahoochee limestone are revealed at Forest Falls, or Limesink, 
eight miles northwest of Whigham. The formation is mainly a 
sandy, compact clay and contains characteristic Alum Bluff fos¬ 
sils. This section has been described in detail on page 334. 

In the cuts of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad west of Cairo, 
the greenish, sandy clays of the Alum Bluff formation rise as high 
as 12 to 15 feet above the track and are unconformably overlain 
by the mottled sands and sandy clays of the Altamaha (Lafayette?) 
formation. On Tired Creek, three and a half miles west of Cairo, 
n cut reveals fossiliferous sandstone of the Alum Bluff formation. 





ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


351 


Section on Tired Creelc. 


Alum Bluff formation. 


4. Stiff, bluish or greenish clay, weathering brown .... 3 

3. Very thinly laminated fullers earth. 1 

2. Soft, argillaceous, white sandstone, fossiliferous ; contains 

Ostrea , Carditamera tegra, Chione, Venus .l 

1. Pale-green, non-laminated clayey sand. 5 


A white sandstone, locally altered to quartzite, occurs on the 
Eagan plantation on Buck Creek, 10 miles south of Cairo. The 
sandstone is overlain by a “gummy,” greenish clay with laminae of 
fullers earth. This sandstone is quarried for local building 
purposes. 

Ocklockonee River. —The Alum Bluff formation is exposed 
along Ocklockonee Eiver from the southern part of Colquitt County 
through Thomas and Grady counties to the Florida line. It con¬ 
sists of greenish or gray, compact sands, greenish clays, and gray, 
argillaceous sandstones. Poorly preserved fossils were found at 
some localities. It is often difficult to distinguish the formation, 
especially where weathered, from the overlying Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette ?) formation. The contact between the two is revealed, how¬ 
ever, east of Pine Park, in the cuts of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail¬ 
road near the river, at mileposts 203 and 205. Near the Florida- 
Georgia line the river has cut through the clays, exposing limestones’ 
which probably belong to the Chattahoochee formation. 

Thomasville and Boston, Thomas County. —In the hilly region 
south of Thomasville, and in the vicinity of Boston, the Alum Bluff 
formation is the main surface formation and, together with the 
Chattahoochee limestone, has determined the character of the topog¬ 
raphy, and to a considerable extent the character of the soil. It 
consists largely of gray and greenish, clays, and compact, argillaceous 
sands, which upon weathering, produce red and brown sands and 
sandy clays. Layers of white, phosphatic sandstone occur which 
appear at the surface as brownish, both angular and rounded frag¬ 
ments strewn through the soil. Oyster shells are the common fossils, 
but associated with them are corals which were probably weathered 
from the underlying Chattahoochee formation. The weathered 
Alum Bluff materials might be easily .confused with the Altamaha 
(Lafayette?) formation. At the few places where the Altamaha 
(Lafayette?) could be recognized it consisted of crossbedded, vari¬ 
colored quartz sand and mottled, sandy clays. The Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation is distinguished by its greenish clays, usually containing 
fossils, and by its phosphatic sandstones. 





352 


GEOLOGY Or THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The best exposures revealing the character of the Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation in this part of the State are at the old Toy phosphate pit, 
three and one-half miles west of Boston; a hill on the Mallet planta¬ 
tion on the Boston-Monticello road, four and one-half miles south¬ 
west of Boston; and at the McIntyre plantation, 11% miles south of 
Thomasville. Sandy clays of the Alum Bluff formation overlie the 
Chattahoochee formation at these localities. 

Greenish quartzite and quartzitic conglomerate, similar to that 
on Withlacoochee River, seven miles east of Quitman, appear on 
the Mitchell plantation, six and one-half miles east of Thomasville. 
This rock contains a small percentage of phosphoric acid. The 
underlying Chattahoochee formation also outcrops at this place. 

Withlacoochee River. —The Alum Bluff presents a variety of 
phases along the course of Withlacoochee River and its relations to 
the Chattahoochee formation may be seen. 

At Old Troupville, four and one-half miles northwest of Valdosta, 
about 15 feet of Alum Bluff strata is exposed in a bluff of Little 
River near its junction with the Withlacoochee; the rock here might 
be described as an argillaceous sandstone. There is a thin layer 
which contains poorly preserved fossils; Turritella, Area , and agat- 
ized oysters were noted. In places, the rock has a brecciated or 
conglomeratic appearance, and is slightly calcareous and phosphatic. 

At the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bridge*, seven miles east of 
Quitman, the channel of the stream is cut into a hard, greenish or 
bluish claystone. This rock is a semi-indurated or very hard rock, 
which was probably originally in the nature of fullers earth, but is 
now hardened by the infiltration of opaline silica which has formed 
the cementing substance of the rock. It contains knots or nodules 
more siliceous than the matrix, in some of which finely crystalline 
pyrite was observed. The rock does not show any distinct lamina¬ 
tion or bedding. 

The left bank of the river, one-half mile below the railroad bridge, 
exposes the following section: 

Section left bank of river, one-half mile below Atlantic Coast Line 
Railroad bridge. 


Pleistocene. Feet. 

4. Slope of incoherent, gray sand.15 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

3. Compact, clay breccia and quartzite.8 

2. Fullers earth-like clay containng siliceous and calcare¬ 
ous nodules. 15 

Chattahoochee formation. 

1. Limestone, covered by water.? 






GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXV. 



A. EXPOSURE OF PARTIALLY INDURATED. PHOSPHATIC, CALCAREOUS 
SAND OF THE ALUM BLUFF FORMATION, ALLAPAHA RIVER, 
STATENVILLE, ECHOLS COUNTY. 



B. 


LOWER SISTER BLUFF, ALTAMAHA RIVER. APPLING COUNTY. SHOWING 
STRATA OF THE ALUM BLUFF AND ALTAMAHA (LAFAYETTE?) 

FORMATIONS. 


























































































































ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


353 


. B e cU 2 and 3 are referred to the Alum Bluff formation. No. 3 is 
in places a vitreous and brittle, amorphous silica, having imbedded 
in it pebbles and fragments of greenish clay; where unaltered it is a 
conglomerate of sand and green clay or fullers earth. The fullers 
earth is greenish and unctuous when moist, and drab and brittle 
when dry; it contains nodules of silica, often agate, and calcareous, 
earthy layers and nodules. No unconformity between layers Nos. 
3 and 4 was noticed, although the conglomerate character of layer 
No. 4 suggests that the underlying clays were eroded during its 
deposition. The only fossils observed were oysters, which were im¬ 
bedded in the silicified conglomerates. 

The relation of the clays to the limestone of the Chattahoochee 
formation was observed in the bluff on the west side of the river 
two and one-half miles below the railroad bridge, near Stony Lake. 

Section near Stony Lake. 


Feet 

Pleistocene. 

3. Gray and brown sand covering the upper slope of the 

bluff .20 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

• 2. Greenish and drab, semi-indurated fullers earth.14 

Chattahoochee formation. 

1. Limestone. 4 

The fullers earth is brittle and crumbles when dry. It contains 


siliceous nodules. At one point a bed was observed which was 
thought to he a transition layer between the fullers earth and the 
limestone. It consisted of one or two feet of soft clay and sandy 
marl, containing numerous fragments of shells, Pecten, echinoids, 
Orbitoides and pieces of bones. No evidence of an unconformity 
between the limestone and the fullers earth was observed. 

At Knight’s Ferry, 11 miles southeast of Quitman, the Alum Bluff 
formation is a semi-indurated clay or fullers earth, partly- silicified. 
The bed of the river at low water is strewn with fragments of chal¬ 
cedony, agate, and white, rounded nodules or concretions of silica. 
About one mile above the wagon bridge there is a picturesque fall 
in the river caused by a bed of semi-indurated, sandy fullers earth 
protruding six or eight feet above the water and forming large 
boulders in the channel. 

Allapaha River .—The nothernmost exposure of the Alum Bluff 
formation observed on Allapaha River is near Willacoochee, Coffee 
County, where two feet of stratified, fine, sandy clay appears in the 
left bank of the river, overlain unconformably by later sediments. 




354 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The following section appears in the east bank of the river at the 
bridge two miles east of Milltown: 

Section two miles east of Milltown. 

Feet In . 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

3. Brown or chocolate-colored, compact sand. 5 

2. Pebbly sand, greenish quartzite, and white phosphate 

pebbles. 1 6 

(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

1. Greenish, sandy clay, containing siliceous and cal¬ 
careous nodules. 8 


Laminated, greenish or drab clavs were thrown from a well near 
the old brick yard west of Stockton, and natural exposures of gray 
or greenish, sandy clays occur at Hotchkiss Mill, three and one-half 
miles northwest, and in the banks of the river at Milltown. 

On the lower courses of Allapaha and Suwanee rivers in Georgia, 
the greenish, sandy clays, fullers earth, and quartzites seem to be 
represented by phosphatic sands. The sands are unconsolidated or 
only slightly compacted, in places are calcareous, and are made up 
principally of coarse, quartz sand and black and brown, water-worn 
particles of bones and teeth which vary from a pin-head to three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter. They contain only poorly pre¬ 
served fossils, not sufficient to determine their age, but they directly 
overlie limestone which has the characteristics of the Chattahoochee 
formation. The only fossils which have been secured from these 
sands are a Scutella, from Statenville, and a Pecten related to P. 
madisonius from Suwanee River, 14 miles south of Fargo, together 
with poor prints of an oyster, and unidentifiable casts. 

In the river bank and in a ravine a few rods below the wagon 
bridge at Statenville, Echols county, 14 feet of phosphatic sand is 
exposed. It is a coarse, gray, calcareous sand, full of brown and 
black, phosphatic particles. The sand becomes decidedly coarse, al¬ 
most pebbly. Thin limestone layers occur in it, and it is strikingly 
crossbedded, the lines of stratification dipping 20 to 30 degrees from 
the horizontal. The phosphatic particles vary from the size of a 
pin-head to one-fourth or one-half inch in diameter. 

Phosphatic and conglomeratic limestone of the Chattahoochee for¬ 
mation appears along the river below Statenville, in places rising as 
high as 10 or 12 feet above low water. 

Exposures of phosphatic sands and greenish, laminated, sandy 
clays, similar to the material on the Allapaha, have been noted by 
Mr. S. W. McCallie 1 on the Allapacoochee near the State line. 


1 Geol. Surv. of Ga., Bull. No. 5-A. p. 82. 






ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


355 


Suwanee River. Suwanee River has its’ source in Okefenokee 
Swamp and flows through a low, flat, sandy plain. The river has 
formed no high bluffs, and exposures of strata other than surficial 
gray or white sands of Pleistocene age are rare and may be seen only 
at very low water. 

Beneath the railroad bridge at Fargo is a greenish, sandy, fine¬ 
grained clay which appears about one foot above low water." It is 
overlain by brown, incoherent, quartz sand, a Pleistocene terrace de¬ 
posit. The greenish clay probably belongs to the Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation, although it contains no fossils, and its age is inferred from 
its lithologic appearance. 

At Bony Bluff, nine miles southwest of Fargo, three feet of gray, 
compact, calcareous sand probably belonging to the Alum Bluff for¬ 
mation appears at very low water. This sand is full of black, phos- 
phatic pellets from the size of a flax-seed to one-fourth inch in 
diameter, and also contains large fragments of blackened bones, 
sharks’ teeth and poorly preserved prints of shells. The phosphatic 
sand is overlain by eight to ten feet of brown and white sand of 
Pleistocene age. Large fragments of silicified wood not in place 
occur, but they probably came from the base of the Pleistocene sand. 

Similar phosphatic sand Avas found at “The Rocks” or “Rocky 
Ford,” five miles below Bony Bluff, and one-half mile above the 
Georgia-Florida State line, the bluff of the river at this point is 
12 feet high at low water. The rock is in the bed of the river, but 
when the water is very low about one foot of it is exposed. It 
is a buff-colored sand, compacted by calcium carbonate; it is slightly 
more • indurated than that at Bony Bluff and contains nodules of 
stone harder than the matrix, which appear to be due to segregations 
of calcium carbonate. Bones and prints of shells are abundant; 
two species of Pectens, an oyster, and a number of obscure casts 
occur. Dr. Vaughan has identified Pecten madisonius from this lo : 
cality, and states that, although the formation here is provisionally 
classed as Oligocene, it may be Miocene. 

The phosphatic sands on Suwanee River arnd on Allapaha River 
are similar in appearance, and probably occupy the same geological 
position, namely, directly above the Chattahoochee formation, and 
there may be a continuous sheet of these sands between the two 
rivers. The greater part of Echols, Clinch, and Charlton counties 
is a very level, sandy plain, and only Allapaha, Suwanee, and St. 
Marys rivers have cut through the Pleistocene surficial sand. The 
smaller streams have low, sandy banks, or flow through swamps, and 
since they have not cut through the sands, exposures of the older 
formations do not appear. 


356 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


St. Marys River .—The occurrence of the Alum Bluff on St. 
Marys Biver is doubtful. If exposed at all, it is only along the 
upper 25 or 30 miles of its course after its issuance from Okefenokee 
Swamp. St. Marys River flows through a flat plain underlain by 
Pleistocene sand, and is generally bordered by low sand banks. The 
following section was observed at Smith Bluff, six miles north of 
MacClenny, Florida: 

Section at Smith Bluff St. Marys River. 

Feet In. 

Pleistocene. 

6. White sand. 2 6 

Age ? 

5. Weathered clay and sand, red mottling. 2 6 

4. Clay. 2 

3. Brownish, quartz sand. 1 

2. Bluish, or drab clay. 4 

Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation (?) 

1. Bluish-gray sand, containing a small amount of dis¬ 
seminated clay, sufficient to make the sand com¬ 
pact, and minute phosphatic particles. 15 

Ro fossils were observed either in the upper or lower part of 
the bluff. Lithologically the lowest stratum is not wholly unlike 
some of the Alum Bluff clayey sands observed at localities in Geor¬ 
gia. Beds 2, 3, 4, and 5 perhaps belong to the Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette?) formation. 

Inasmuch as younger fossiliferous beds are found at Stokes Ferry, 
11 miles south of St. George, it is not probable that the Oligocene 
extends further than the eastern angle of the river, in southern 
Charlton County. 

Ocmulgee River .—Certain strata appearing in the bluffs from 
near Abbeville on Ocmulgee, to Doctortown on Altamaha River, are 
referred to the Alum Bluff formation. The age of these beds has 
been largely determined by their petrologic character and their 
stratigraphic relations to other formations. Conclusive paleontologic 
evidence of their age is wanting. They are underlain by lower Oligo¬ 
cene limestone and are overlain by beds of Pleistocene, Pliocene(?), 
and Miocene age. The presence of the Chattahoochee formation 
underlying these Alum Bluff beds has not been demonstrated, although 
there is a suggestion that the Chattahoochee formation exists near 
Hawkinsville and Abbeville where silicified corals have been found. 

A number of sections of bluffs will be given to indicate the lith¬ 
ologic character and the relations of the Alum Bluff formation to 
other formations. 








ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


357 


The following succession of beds appears at House Creek bluff, 
two miles east of Bowens Mill, Wilcox County: 


Section at House Creek Bluff, Ocmulgee River. 


Feet 


Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

Okefenokee formation. 

8. Thin covering of gray sand. 

7. Mottled, red and yellow sand or loam. 30 

Oligocene 

Alum Bluff formation. 

6. Greenish, fine textured clay containing sand pockets 

and siliceous nodules. 10 

5. "White, calcareous sandstone. 5 

4. Bed of oyster shells in a calcareous, sandy matrix . 2 

3. Greenish, clayey sand with calcareous concretions . 3 

2. Greenish, laminated, sandy clay. 4 

1. Gray, compact sand. 5 


In. 


6 


The oyster-bearing beds of this locality are mentioned by Dali 1 
as “presenting such a petrologic character as the Hawthorne beds of 
Florida.” The Hawthorne beds are now regarded as approximately 
the age equivalent of the Chattahoochee. 2 Certainly the lithologic 
aspect of the beds at House Creek is more like that of the Alum 
Bluff formation of southwestern Georgia than of the Chattahoochee 
formation of the same region. 


Section of Bluff at Lumber City, Telfair County . 


Feet 

Pleistocene (terrace deposit) 

4. Thin covering of gray sand, level of second terrace . . 

3. Coarse, gray and red, pebbly sand; coarse pebble layer 

at base. 15 

(Unconformity.) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

2. Interstratified layers of greenish clay, and yellow and 

white, unconsolidated sand. 10 

1. Greenish and drab, sandy clay. 15 


Ho fossils were found here except in limestone fragments at the 
base of the Pleistocene. 

In the bluff at Quinns “Fractions,” four miles below Lumber 
City, similar sandy clays, together with a bed of vitreous quartzite, 
are exposed. 


UJ S. Geol. Survey, Bull. No. 84, p. 81. 

2 Matson and Clapp, Fla. Geol. Surv. 2d Ann. Rept. 1909, p. 70. 












358 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section at Quinns “Fractions,” Ocmulgee River. 


Feet 

Age ? 

5. Upper slope of bluff, strata concealed. 20 to 30 

Alum Bluff formation. 

4. Bed of quartzite, exposed. 1 

3. Gray, compact sand containing clay laminae; contains 

poorly preserved prints of fossils. 12 

2. Gray sand slightly indurated.. 3 

1. Greenish laminated clay with sand partings. 5 


At Oaky Bluff, two miles above tbe junction of Ocmulgee and 
Oconee rivers, thin slabs of greenish, brittle quartzite similar to that 
at Quinns “Fractions” appear. This is a low Pleistocene bluff and 
the quartzite extends only two feet above low water. Similar rock 
occurs on the Altamaha and probably lies in the channel of the river 
at Town Bluff, and also appears in the right bank of the river just 
above Nayles Ferry. 

Oconee River. —Good exposure of beds, questionably referred to 
the Alum Bluff formation, occur at several bluffs on Oconee River. 
The materials are not typical of the Alum Bluff deposits, but differ 
from them only in being coarser and more irregularly-bedded; some 
of the coarser phases resemble the materials of the Altamaha (Lafay¬ 
ette?) formation. 

Exposures have been examined at Berry Hill Bluff, Joyces Bluff, 
Stallings Bluff, and other bluffs between Dublin and the mouth of 
the river. Berry Hill is 55 miles above the mouth of the river and 
10 miles’ west of Soperton. 



Section at Berry Hill Bluff. 

Feet 

Age ? 



3. 

Loose gray sand and gravel on upper slope. 


Alum 

Bluff formation. 


2. 

Gray, alluminous sandstone, forms a precipice . . . . 

. . 50 

1 . 

Sandstone and claystone, softer than the above . . 

. . 15 


The sandstone is an indurated, coarse, feldspathic, quartz sand 
with disseminated greenish clay, the whole slightly cemented by silica. 
The rock varies from a clay stone to a coarse sandstone almost a con¬ 
glomerate. Ho fossils were found. 

Joyces Bluff, two miles above Seaboard Air Line bridge. 


Feet. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

9. Mottled grit. 10 

8. Gray, fine-grained, aluminous sandstone. 5 

7. Drab claystone, containing coarse quartz grains . . 3 

6. Gray sandstone. 4 

5. Hard clay. 1 













ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


359 


Feet In. 

4. Fine-grained sandstone. 2 

3. Greenish, massive, sandy cl^y. & 6 

2. Gray sandstone. 1 6 

1. Drab, sandy clay. 6 


Section of lower end of Joyce's Bluff. 

Feet 

Age ? 

9. Upper slope, concealed. '20 

Alum Bluff formation. 

8. Fine-grained, gray sandstone. 2 

7. Coarse, feldspathic, conglomerate, crossbedded; pebbles 

an inch in diameter. 7 

6. Fine-grained sandstone. 

5. Massive, drab clay. 4 

4. Fine-grained, sandy clay, indurated and jointed .... 4 

3. Yellowish sand . 1 

2. Feldspathic sandstone or grit. 

1. Greenish and gray, friable sandstone. & 

Stallings Bluff, two miles west of Mount \ ernon, is 45 feet high 
and is made up of rock similar to that at Berry Hill and Joyces 
Bluff. Ho fossils were found. 

Altamaha River .—One of the best exposures of the Alum Bluff 
on Altamaha Biver is in the bluff at Grays Landing, 10 miles below 
the forks. 


Section at Grays Landing. 

Feet 

Age ? 

9. Incoherent gray sand, containing coarse gravel .... 

Pliocene. 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

8. Mottled coarse sand and clay. 

7. Gray feldspathic sandstone or grit. 

Unconformity (?) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. . 

G. Gray or greenish sand, compacted by disseminated clay . 

5* Greenish or gray sand, containing less clay than the 

overlying bed. 

4. Greenish or drab clay...• • • 

3. Massive sand containing clay layers an inch or two thick 

2. White, jointed, and laminated fullers earth. 

1. Compact sand and claystone. 

The fullers earth is very similar in appearance to the fullers earth 

of southwestern Georgia. . 

The Alum Bluff formation is represented at Upper bister and. 
Lower Sister bluffs, 48 and 49 miles, respectively, below the forks 
The Alum Bluff strata exposed in the bluffs reach a thickness of 


9 


8 

20 


6 

5 
■2 

6 
6 
1 


/ 




















360 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


30 or 40 feet and consist of gray or greenish, aluminous sands and 
laminated, gray or greenish, sandy clays. The upper parts of the 
bluffs consist of coarse, feldspathic grit, the age of which is in some 
doubt. No fossils were found. These localities will be further dis¬ 
cussed under the chapter on the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation. 

At Fort James, 58 miles below the forks, the lower part of the 
bluff, consists of fine-grained, aluminous, compact sand, gray or green¬ 
ish in color, and is probably Oligocene. This material is overlain 
by coarse-grained, more feldspathic beds. 

The Alum Bluff formation at Oglethorpe Bluff, eight and one- 
half miles above Doctortown, is exposed to a thickness of 15 feet and 
is unconformably overlain by unconsolidated sand and clay of the 
Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation. It consists of greenish clays, 
and gray or greenish, compact, aluminous sands. 

The Alum Bluff formation, consisting of coarse, bluish or green¬ 
ish, aluminous, compact sands, occurs at Linden, Bugs, and Doctor- 
town bluffs, where it is unconformably overlain by Miocene strata. 
Sections at Bugs Bluff and at Doctortown will be described under 
the chapter on the Miocene. 

The last high bluffs on the river are the Upper and Lower Sansa- 
villa bluffs, 27 and 28% miles, respectively, below Doctortown. 
There is a small thickness of coarse, crossbedded sand which may 
represent the Oligocene. The section at the lower bluff is: 

Section at Lower Sansavilla Bluff. 

Feet 


Pleistocene. 

3. Fine, brown and white sand. 15 

2. Sand containing thin 1 layers of white or drab, laminated 

clay. 20 

Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation (?) 

1. Coarse, crossbedded, bluish, aluminous sand. 8 


Ogeechee River .—The Alum Bluff formation occurs at two lo¬ 
calities on Ogeechee Biver. A shaly, fullers earth-like clay and a 
greenish or gray siliceous claystone are exposed on the west side of 
the river, about one mile west of Rocky Ford. This rock rises about 
20 feet above the water. No fossils were observed. 

At Indian Head, three miles west of Egypt, Effingham County, 
two and one-half feet of sandstone, containing pockets of greenish, 
silicified clay, occurs in a slough on the property of Carl Higgins. 

The rock at these localities are referred to the Alum Bluff 
formation purely upon the basis of lithologic character and geo¬ 
graphic position. 





ALUM BLUFF FORMATION 


361 


Savannah River .—The northernmost exposure of the Alum Bluff 
formation on Savannah Biver was noted at-Hudsons Landing, Screven 
County, 68% miles above Savannah. The following section is ex¬ 
posed at the base of the bluff near the boat landing: 

Section at base of bluff near Hudsons Landing. 

Alum Bluff formation. Feet i n . 

3. Pale green, thin, calcareous clay containing indis- 

stinct impressions of leaves. 0 1 to 2 

2. Hard, sandy claystone, poor prints of fossils . . 0 3 

1. To water’s edge, dark green, coarse sand, argil¬ 
laceous and compact; poor prints of fossils ... 1 

About 300 yards above the landing a bed of compact sand and fine¬ 
grained clay containing prints of fossils appears in the bluff 25 feet 
above the river ; it is probably referable to the Al um Bluff forma¬ 
tion. The presence of beds of upper Oligocene age at this locality 
has not been proven by fossils'. The beds here lie above the Chatta¬ 
hoochee and Vicksburg formations, which appear at the surface to 
the northward and the succession of beds is similar to that at Porters 
Landing where beds of upper Oligocene age have been recognized 
by fossils; the stratigraphic position of the lower beds at Hudsons 
Landing is, therefore, inferred to be that of the Alum Bluff forma¬ 
tion. 

The following is a section of a bluff one-half mile below Hud¬ 
sons Landing: 

Section of bluff one-half mile below Hudsons Landing. 

Feet 

Pleistocene (?) 

7. Gray, surficial sand. 2 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Coarse sand containing a small amount of clay, mot¬ 


tled red and gray; thin line of quartz pebbles at base. 30 
(Unconformity) 

Miocene. 

5. Brown, fine-grained sand.7 

Miocene (?) 

(Unconformity) 

4. Yellow and gray, unconsolidated sand; thin line of flat 

and discoidal quartz pebbles at base. 20 

(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

3. Light greenish, sandy clay, faintly laminated. 6 

2. Greenish-gray or ash-colored, compact sand. 11 

1. Red and brown, compact sand. 4 


As no well preserved fossils were found the correlations indicated 
in the preceding section are tentative. 









362 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


In a bluff one mile below Hudsons Landing, Alum Bluff strata 
rise 30 feet above the river. They consist of p-eenish, compact, 
argillaceous sands which are massive and not laminated. Ho fossils 
were observed in these sands. The formation is separated from the 
overlying strata by a thin bed of nodular, fossiliferous, Miocene 
limestone containing Mytilus conradinus d’Orbigny. 

The Alum Bluff formation appears in the lower part of a bluff at 
Porters Landing, 62 miles above Savannah. Sloan was first to 
recognize the stratigraphic importance of this section and has made 
a careful study of it. The Porters Landing exposures are described 
in detail on pages 371-373 of this report. 

MIOCENE 


In earlier geological literature on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal 
Plain the term Miocene included beds which are now placed in the 
Oligocene. For example, the Chattahoochee and Alum Bluff for¬ 
mations were formerly described as Miocene. Under the Miocene 
were included all the beds between the Vicksburgian and the Plio¬ 
cene or Pleistocene. The necessity of a division, however, was 
recognized, and Dr. W. H. Dali distinguished the “old or subtropical 
Miocene” and the “new or Chesapeake Miocene.” The “old Mio¬ 
cene” is now referred to the Oligocene division of the Tertiary, a 
discrimination due largely to the studies of Doctor Dali. The 
Miocene here described refers only to that portion formerly desig¬ 
nated “new or Chesapeake,” which includes the strata lying between 
the Alum Bluff formation, and the Pliocene or Pleistocene. A sum¬ 
mary of correlations of Tertiary horizons, according to the new 
classification, has been given by Doctor Dali. The name Chesa¬ 
peake was used by Dali as a general term to include all of the 
Miocene of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain. 

Dr. Vaughan 3 has recently made a paleontologic study of the 
Miocene at Porters Landing, Savannah River, Effingham County, 
and has correlated the late Miocene here [=“Edisto” phase of 
Sloan, of his section 4 ] with the Duplin marl of {North Carolina, 
and considers the older Miocene here [— Marks Head of Sloan] 
the approximate equivalent of the Calvert formation of Maryland. 

‘Bull. South Carolina Geol. Survey No. 2, ser. 4. p. 273. 

Eighteenth Ann. Rept.., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1896-1897, pp. 327-348, 

Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. 19. No. 1110, 1896, pp. 303, 304. 

3 Science, n. s., vol. 31, No. 804, May 27. 1910. pp. 833, 834. 

4 According to Doctor Vaughan the “Edisto” of Sloan in the Porters Landing section 
is not his “Edisto” of the vicinity of Charleston, but is a much later horizon. 



MIOCENE 


363 


MARKS HEAD MARL 

NAME 

The Miocene at Porters Landing was differentiated by Sloan 1 
into two phases, which he designated the “Edisto” and Marks Head 
phases, respectively, correlating the former with the phosphatized 
Miocene marl on Edisto River, S. C., and applying a new name to 
the latter. Later, Dr. ^ aughan 1 has shown that the lower of 
Sloan’s phases, the Marks Head; is approximately synchronous with 
the C alvert formation of Maryland, and that the upper or “Edisto 
phase is contemporaneous with the Duplin marl of Xorth Carolina. 
The latter is stratigraphically higher than the Edisto marl of South 
Carolina. 

The name Maf’ks Head is derived from Marks Head, a small 
ravine one mile northwest of Porters Landing, Savannah River, 
Screven County, Ga. The Marks Head marl, although correspond¬ 
ing approximately to the Calvert formation, is separated from it 
geographically by a wide interval, and the different name Marks Head 
is therefore appropriate. 

DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic Relations .—The Marks Head marl rests upon the 
Alum Bluff formation of the Oligocene. The exposures on Sa¬ 
vannah River furnish evidence of an erosion unconformity, sepa¬ 
rating the former from the latter. However, both the physical and 
faunal evidence seems to show that the time interval represented by 
this unconformity was relatively short. The formation is overlain 
unconformably by the Duplin marl. Since the Marks Head marl 
is of early Miocene age and the Duplin marl of late Miocene age, 
the unconformity separating them is an important one. 

Lithologic Characters and Thickness. —The beds of this formation 
consist of gray or brownish, compact, argillaceous sands, containing 
large, calcareous nodules, and, in places, of friable, phosphatic sands 
containing shells. The phosphatic sands are mainly quartz sand 
with a small amount of phosphate in the form of small, brown 
and black, smooth or water-worn particles of bones and teeth, dis¬ 
seminated clay, and calcium carbonate in the form of shells and 
calcareous nodules. (See detailed sections, pp. 371-373.) The max¬ 
imum observed thickness of this formation is 45 feet, this thick¬ 
ness appearing in some of the sections in the vicinity of Porters 
Landing on Savannah River. 


J Op. cit. 



364 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Areal Distribution and Structure. —This formation has been dif¬ 
ferentiated at and in the vicinity of Porters Landing, Savannah 
Fiver, Effingham County, Ga. It is doubtless represented in the 
undifferentiated Miocene occurring in sections above Porters Land¬ 
ing at least as far as Hudsons Ferry, and in the sections between 
Porters Landing and Sisters Ferry. (See detailed sections, pp. 371- 
375.) 

So far as can be determined from the natural exposures the beds 
lie almost horizontally, having only a very slight dip southward, 
probably not more than three or four feet to the mile. 

The formation is almost entirely concealed by later sediments, 
outcrops occurring only in the bluffs of streams; for this reason the 
beds have had little or no influence either upon the topography or 
upon the character of the soil of the region underlain by them. 

Paleontologic Characters. —The formation has yielded a relatively 
small fauna, the collections coming chiefly from localities in the 
vicinity of Porters Landing, Savannah Fiver. The fossils have 
been studied by Dr. Vaughan, who furnishes the following annotated 
list: 


Table of fossils from the Maries Heal Marl. 

Localities' Marks Head, one mile west of north of Porter’s Landing.—Earle 
Sloan and T. W. Vaughan, collectors. 

One-half mile above Porter’s Landing.—L. W. Stephenson, col¬ 
lector. 

One-half mile above Porter’s Landing,—T. W. Vaughan, col¬ 
lector. 

Porter’s Landing, between the Carolia bed below, and the Ostrea 
mauricensis ledge above.—T. W. Vaughan, collector. 

Porter’s Landing, Ostrea mauricensis ledge.—T. W. Vaughan, 
collector. 

Sister’s Ferry,—L. W. Stephenson, collector. 


I 


MIOCENE 


NAME 

« 

Stratigraphic Range 
and occurrence 

Marks Head, E. S. & 

T. W. V. 

i mi. above Porters 

Landing, L. W. S. 

i mi. above Porters 

Landing, T. W. V. 

Turritella aequistriata Con- 





rad. 

Jericho, N. J . 



X 

Neverita duplicata var. per- 





calosa Conrad , . 

Miocene to re- 





cent .... 



X 

Calliostoma aphelium Dali . 

Jones Wharf and 




t 

Calvert Cliffs 





Md. 



X 

Calliostoma sp. . . . 



X 

X 

Yoldia leavis Say. 





Area limula Conrad .... 

Miocene and Pli- 





ocene .... 

X 



Ostrea mauricensis Gabb . 

Eocene, Oligo- 





cene, lower 





Miocene of Jer- 




Pecten marylandicus Wag- 

icho, N. J. . . 

X 

X 

X 

ner. 

Jones Wharf, 





Md., etc. . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Carolia sp. (floridana Dali ?) 


X 


X 

Mytilus conradinus d’Orb. 

Throughout the 




Astarte yo. (also in the up- 

Miocene . . . 

X 

X 

X 

per horizon at Porters) . 





Venericardia perplana var . 




X 

abbreviata Conrad . . . 

Miocene of York 





xtiver to Plio- 





cene. 



X 

Phacoides trisulcatus Con- 

Oligocene to Pli- 




rad. 

cene. 

• 


X 

Phacoides crenulatus (Con- 

:Miocene of Jeri- 




rad). 

cno, N. J., to 





Duplin horizon, 





N. C. 



X 

Phacoides sp. 

Jones Wharf, Md. 



X 

Cardium laqueatum Conrad. 

to Duplin hori- 





zon, N. C. . . 



X 

Dosinia sp. 




X 

Macrocallista sp. 




X 

Strigilla flexuosa Say . . . 

Oligocene to Re- 





cent. 



X 

Strigilla carnaria (Linn) . 

Hitherto only Re- 





cent. 



X 

Donax n. sp. 



X 

X 

Mactra sp. (hinge of large 





sp.) . 




X 

Spisula n. sp. .. 



X 


Corbula n. sp. 




X 

Balanus. 

. 


X 

X 


Sorters Landing be¬ 

tween Cnrolia & 0. 
mmiricensis, beds. 





















































366 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“Geologic Horizon. —The presence of Carolia in this bed suggests Oligocene, 
but every other identifiable species may be Miocene, and only three others 
range downward into the Oligocene; nine species are not known below the 
Miocene.; of these nine, six are confined to the Miocene. The horizon is, 
therefore, in the Miocene, while the presence of Turritetlla cequistriata Con¬ 
rad, Calliostoma aphelium Dali, Ostrea mauricensis Gabb, and Pecten mary- 
landicus Wagner, definitely points to a horizon low in the series.” 

Economic Geology. —From an economic viewpoint the formation 
contains little of interest. It contains some phosphatic marls which 
may prove to be of local value as fertilizers or as fillers for commer¬ 
cial fertilizers. 


DUPLIN MARL 


NAME. 


The name Duplin is derived from Duplin County, H. C. It was 
proposed as a formation name by Dr. Dali in publications appearing 
from 1895 to 1903. 12 * 


DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic Relations. —The Duplin marl rests unconform- 
ably upon the Marks Head marl, or, where the latter is absent, upon 
the Alum Bluff formation of the Oligocene. The former relations 
were observed in the various sections examined at and in the vi¬ 
cinity of Porters Landing, Savannah River (pp. 311-373), and the 
latter relations are believed to obtain in sections on Altamaha 
River, at the bluff at Doctortown, at Buzzards Roost Bluff, and at 
Bugs Bluff (pp. 376-377.) 

The formation is overlain unconformably by deposits referred 
in this report in part tentatively to the Altamaha formation, and in 
part to the Pleistocene (terrace deposits). 

Lithologic Characters and Thickness. —The formation as exposed 
on Savannah River is mainly a shell marl, consisting of shells in a 
matrix of coarse, phosphatic sand; but in places it consists of a fine, 
gray, or brown, quartz sand, which contains scarcely any fossils or 
calcareous matter. The formation probably does not reach a thick¬ 
ness of more than 10 or 12 feet. 

The Duplin marl on Altamaha River consists of friable, sandy, and 
pebbly shell-marl, and bluish,* compact, fine-grained, argillaceous 


1 Proc. Nat. Mus., vol. 18, 1895, pp. 31. 40, 46. 

Eighteenth Ann. Kept., U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1898, p. 338. 

“Trans. Wagner Free Inst. Sci., Philadelphia, vol. 3, pt. 6, 1903, pp. 1598-1603. 



MIOCENE 


367 


sand which is also fossiliferous. The formation overlies, uncon- 
formably, strata of probable Alum Bluff age and is, in turn, over- 
lain by vari-colored sands and clays which probably belong to the 
Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation. The Duplin marl does not 
reach a thickness of over 12 or 15 feet in natural exposures. 

Areal Distribution and Structure. —The formation has been dif¬ 
ferentiated in the sections at Porters Landing, and at Mount Pleas¬ 
ant Landing, one and one-half miles below Porters Landing on Sa¬ 
vannah River (pp. 371-374). It is doubtless represented in undiffer¬ 
entiated Miocene beds recognized in bluffs above Porters Landing as 
far as Hudsons Ferry, and below Porters Landing perhaps as far 
as Purisburg, S. C., 23 miles above Savannah. It has also been 
differentiated at Doctortown, at Buzzards Roost Bluff, and at Bugs 
Bluff on Altamaha River. The formation probably underlies much 
of the area, beneath surficial formations, between the occurrences on 
Altamaha and on Savannah rivers. 

The Duplin beds dip to the southward at a very low angle, the 
inclination probably not exceeding three or four feet to the mile. 

Except as revealed in occasional stream bluffs the formation is 
probably concealed over the entire area of its occurrence by surficial 
deposits, and for this reason has had little or no part in determining 
the topographic features or the character of the soils of the region. 

Paleontologic Characters. —This formation has yielded a fairly 
large number of species in Georgia, although compared with the 
collections from the type region in Xorth Carolina the fauna is small. 
The collections were made chiefly at Porters Landing on Savannah 
River, but a few species have been identified from Doctortown and 
from Buzzards Roost Bluff on Altamaha River. Dr. Vaughan 
furnishes the following annotated list of species identified from the 
Porters Landing collections: 


368 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Table of fossils from upper horizon of the Miocene, Porters Land¬ 
ing, Georgia. 


L. W. S.—L. W. Stephenson, collector. 

T. W. Y.—T. W, Vaughn, collector. 

D.^Duplin, N. C. 

5191 

L. W. S. 

5241 

Upper end 
of Bluff 
T. W. V. 

5242 

Lower end 
of Bluff 
T. W. V. 

Scala sp. a. 



X 


Scala sp. b. 



X 


Scala sp. c. 



X 


Scala sp. d. 



X 


Scala sp. e. 



X 


Scala sp. f . 



X 


Turritella variabilis Conrad. 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Turritella duplinensis Gardiner. 

. D . . . 

X 



Ompbalius exoletus (Conrad). 

. D . . . 

X 

X 


Calliostoma mitchelli (Conrad). 

. D . . . 


X 


Calliostoma armillatum (T. & H.) . . . 

. D . . . 


X 


Fissuridea sp. yo. 

. D . . . 


X 


Cadulus thallus Conrad. 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Nucula proxima Say. 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Leda acuta Conrad . 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Glycymeris sp. yo.:. 



X 


Area improcera Conrad. 

. D . . . 

X 



Area sp. fragment. 



X 


Ostrea disparilis Conrad . 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Ostrea sculpturata Conrad. 


X 

X 


Pteria colymbus Bolten. 



X 


Pecten eboreus Conrad. 

. D . . . 

x. 

X 

X 

Pecten jeffersonius Say. 


X 

X 


Pecten jeffersonius var. septenarius Say . 

. D . . . 



■y 

Pecten sp. 


X 

X 

X 

Pseudamusium sp. 




X 

Plicatula marginata Say. 

. D . . . 

X 

X 


Anomia simplex d’Orb. 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Placunanomia plicata T. & H. 

. D . . , 


X 


Astarte concentrica Conrad. 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Astarte distans var. floridana Dali .... 



X 


Astarte undulata Say. 

. D . . . 


X 


Crassinella dupliniana Dali. 

. D . . . 


X 


Venericardia granulata Say. 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Venericardia tridentata Say. 



X 

X 

Venericardia perplano Conrad. 

. D . . . 


X 


Phacoides anodonta (Say) . 

. D . . . 


X 


Phacoides radians (Conrad). 


X 

X 


Phacoides cribarius (Say). 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Phacoides multilineatus (T. & H.) .... 


X 

X 

X 

Chione athleta (Conrad) .. . 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Venus tridacnoides var. rileyi Conrad . 


X 

X 

X 

Venus tridacnoides Lamarck. 

. D . . . 

X 



Transennella caloosana Dali. 




X 

Tellina (Angulus) umbra Dali. 

. D . . . 


X 


Tellina ? sp. 



X 


Strigilla sp. fragment. 



X 


Mulinia congesta (Conrad) . 

. D . . . 

X 

X 

X 

Corbula inequalis Say. 

. D . . . 


X 

X 

Balanus, probably 2 species. 



X 

X 

Crab chela. 



X 


Lunulites.. 



X 

X 

Other Bryozoa, 2 species. 



X 

X 

Echinoid spines. 



X 

X 

Septastrea . 



X 


Astrangia ? . 



X 


Boring sponge ? . 



X 



































































MIOCENE 


369 


Total number of identified species, 34 (not counting varieties), 30 of 
which are also at Duplin. The four species which have not been found there 
are as follows: 

Pteria colymbus Bolten, the previously known range of which 
was from the Caloosahatchee Pliocene to Recent, or younger than 
the Duplin horizon. 

Astarte distans var. floridana Dali. Miocene of Jackson 
Bluff, Fla., approximately the Duplin horizon. 

Phacoides multilineatus (T. & H.) Known range from the 
Miocene of Maysville, S. C., to Recent; from the Duplin horizon 
to Recent. 

Transennella caloosana Dali. Known range from Miocene 
of Jackson Bluff, Fla., to Pleistocene, from approximately the 
Duplin horizon to Pleistocene. 

The bed whence the fossils came is evidently the stratigraphic equiva¬ 
lent of the Duplin marl of North Carolina. 

Economic Geology. —The formation gives but slight promise of 
yielding products of economic value. It contains some phosphatic 
marls which may prove of local value as fertilizers, or as fillers for 
commercial fertilizers. The terrane may be of importance as a 
water-bearing formation since it probably is the source of many of 
the flowing wells obtained in Glynn, McIntosh, and Camden 
counties. 


UNDIFFERENTIATED MIOCENE 

Excepting the exposures in the vicinity of Porters Landing, at 
Mount Pleasant Landing, and at Sisters Ferry, it has not been pos¬ 
sible with the available data to differentiate the Marks Head and 
Duplin divisions of the Savannah River sections, though doubtless 
both formations are represented at least from Hudsons Ferry in 
Screven County to Sisters Ferry in Effingham County. Detailed 
information concerning these undifferentiated Miocene beds are 
given in the chapter on local details, pages 377-379. 

Fossils of Miocene age have been recognized in dredgings from 
Brunswick River at Brunswick, Glynn County, Ga., but they had 
been mixed by the dredging processes with large numbers of shells 
younger than the Miocene. Limestone tentatively referred to the 
Miocene occurs on the Livingston plantation, 18 miles west of Bruns¬ 
wick in Gl ynn County, and a calcareous sand at Owens Ferry, Sa- 
tilla River, eight miles west of Woodbine, Camden County. 

It is believed that strata of Miocene age underlie much of the 
region adjacent to the Atlantic Coast beneath beds of younger age; 
and it is considered not improbable that such strata may reach a 
thickness of several hundred feet. However, confirmatory evidence 
is lacking. 


370 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


LOCAL DETAILS 

Because of the limited area of the exposures, and as the different 
subdivisions recognized can not be definitely identified except at a 
few of the better exposures* the local details of the Miocene will be 
treated together. 

SAVANNAH RIVER 

Strata of Miocene age appear in exposures on and near Savannah 
River at intervals from Hudsons Ferry, Ga., 68% miles above Sa¬ 
vannah, to Purisburg, S. C., 23 miles above Savannah. Sections of 
a number of bluffs in which Miocene strata occur, and which are con¬ 
sidered stratigraphically important, are given below. Final deci¬ 
sions as to the divisions and the age of some of the beds exposed 
from Hudsons Landing southward have not yet been made, and the 
conclusions here presented are only tentative. Some sections of in¬ 
terest in connection with the Miocene are given in the chapter on the 
Alum Bluff formation. 

Hudsons Ferry. —A section observed one-half mile below the land¬ 
ing, in which 37 feet of undifferentiated Miocene is recognized, is 
given in the chapter on the Alum Bluff formation, page 361. The 
section described below occurs three-quarters of a mile below the 
landing. 

Section at Landing three-quarters of a mile below Hudsons Landing, 

Screven County. 


Pleistocene. Feet. 

8. Loose, incoherent gray sand.2 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha formation ? 

7. Mottled gray and red, coarse, clayey sand.10 

6. Interstratified, harsh sand, and fine-grained waxy clay . 10 

5. Brown, ocherous, coarse sand; well-rounded pebbles at 

base .5 

(Unconformity.) 

Miocene. 

Duplin marl ? 

4. Compact, ash-colored, argillaceous sand ..10 


3. Drab, and brown or yellow, sandy clay containing fossils, 

Pecten madisonius, and other fossils poorly preserved . 2 
(Unconformity.) 

Miocene? 

2. Massive-bedded, gray and brown phosphatic sand . . . . 25 
Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation (?). 

1. Concealed by creep from upper part of bluff.20 

Division Ho. 3 contains prints of Pecten, poorly preserved leaf im¬ 
pressions, sharks’ teeth, and dental plates of fish; at the base a few 







MIOCENE 


371 


well-rounded quartz pebbles appear. From its lithologic appearance 
and position in the section No. 2 is believed to be the equivalent of 
division No. 4 of Sloan’s Porters Landing section which is subse¬ 
quently given.. Paleontologic evidence to confirm this is lacking. 

Similar sections were observed in other bluffs in this vicinity and 
the Miocene seems to be separated from both the overlying and under- 
formations by unconformities, which are marked by lines of 
small quartz pebbles. These pebbles are generally flat, oval, and 
discoidal, and are probably of beach origin. 

Marks Head. The following is the section at Marks Head, the 
type locality of the Marks Head formation, adapted from that given 

by Sloan. 1 

Marks Head, on the western side of Savannah River, one mile north¬ 
west of Porters Landing, near head of Marks Head Run. 


6. Surface sands. 

5. Thin broken line of hard yellow marl. Feet. 

4. Yellow-brown clayey matrix inclosing soft fossil shells 
3. Partly indurated sand mass inclosing some fossil molds 

(2and 3 aggregate 14 feet in thickness). 10 

2. Blue-green matrix inclosing many small rounded black 
particles, and soft shells ( Pecten, Mytilus, Mytilo- 

concha, Area, Anomia, etc., etc.). 4 

1. Hard, sandy, brown matrix inclosing many soft shells. 
Extends below valley line increasing in hardness 
with depth. 1 


For a list of the fossils from this locality, see page 365. 

Porters Landing and Vicinity. —The best exposures of the Miocene 
occur in the bluffs at Porters Landing, 62 miles above Savannah, and 
the section is of much stratigraphic importance. It has been studied 
in detail by Mr. Earle Sloan, 2 State Geologist of South Carolina. 

The following section is based upon his descriptions, but the clas¬ 
sification of the beds is changed to accord with the conclusions of 
Dr. Vaughan from a careful study of the fossils. 

Section at Porters Landing, 62 miles above Savannah. 

Age ? Feet. 

8. White, yellow, and red sands in stratified beds of both 

fine and coarse-grained material. 64 

7. Thin broken line of vertebrate remains, and small pieces 
of phosphate rock. 

Miocene. 

Duplin marl. 

6. Ledge of compact, yellowish marl enclosing Pecten ebor- 

eus, Ecphora quadricostata, numerous Anomias, etc . . 5.9 


mull. Geol. Survey of South Carolina, series IV, No. 2. p. 274. 
mull. Geol. Survey of South Carolina, series IV, No. 2, p. 273. 








372 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Marks Head marl. 

5. Dun-colored mass of leached marl and indurated sands 
enclosing many rounded concretions of carbonate of 
lime encasing variable amounts of sand. Some concre¬ 
tions more than two feet in diameter. The basal portion 
is a hard concretionary layer (about a half foot thick) 
formed along a highly irregular surface. Stratum (5) 
appears at same level as the Marks Head marl at its 


type locality, one mile northwest. 27 

4. White sands enclosing a large number of one species of 
Pecten and numerous shell fragments, Pecten marylan- 
dicus Wagner . .. 1.7 


3. Fine-grained, laminated shale with sand partings. The 
median portion appears in the form of silicified con¬ 
cretions. The base includes a line of rounded pebbles . 14 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

2. A much leached marl enclosing Carolina floridana Pec- 
tens, sharks teeth, rib of cetaceans, and a large num¬ 
ber of small, discoidal, quartz pebbles ,. 6 

1. Above zero water level appears 0 to 8 feet of a laminated 
drab shale with arenaceous partings. Enclosing molds 
of the Lucinidae, and at Hudsons Ferry impressions of 
the dwarf palmetto. 


Sloan recognized two divisions, the “Edisto” and Marks Head. 
In a subsequent study, Vaughan 1 correlated the upper Miocene 
horizon with the Duplin of North Carolina. 

The following sections near Porters Landing are by the authors of 
this report. 


Section 100 yards below Porters Landing . 


Pleistocene ? Feet. 

6. Loose, gray sand. 5 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation ? 

5. White, yellow, and red sand. 25 

Miocene. » 

Duplin marl. 


4. Bed of shell marl; shells in a matrix of coarse, phos- 
phatic sand. Small, well-rounded, quartz pebbles at the 
base, resting unconformably on No. 3, Pecten eboPeus, 
Pecten jeffersonius, Anomia simplex, Area, Phacoides, 

etc. 5 

Marks Head marl. 

3. Brown or gray, phosphatic sand with large calcareous 

nodules, as much as two feet in diameter or length . . 30 

2. Drab, or dark greenish, sandy, faintly laminated clay 

(no unconformity observed between Nos. 2 and 3.) . . 10 

1. Sandy, drab clay, partly silicified, and contains hard, 
round, siliceous concretions. Phosphate pebbles, but 
not so abundant as in No. 3. Contains Pecten mary- 
landicus . 8 


Science, n. s., vol. 31, No. 804, May 27, 1910, pp. 833, 834. 











MIOCENE 


373 


* A \ the ^ as . a ^ ^eds of the bluff were under water at the time of mak¬ 
ing the section, the Alum Bluff formation was not studied at this 
locality. 

An exposure appears about three-quarters of a mile northwest of 
Porters Landing. 

Section one-half to three-quarters of a mile northwest of Porters 

Landing. 

„ . Feet 

Age ? 

5. Upper beds concealed. . ? 

Miocene. 

Marks Head marl. 

4. Brownish quartz sand containing at the base a mass of 

shells and phosphatic sand, Ostrea mauricensis ... 6 

• 3. Compact, gray, argillaceous and calcareous sand, phos¬ 
phatic . 18 

2. White and brown sand, shells in white, phosphatic sand 

very abundant about the middle of the ted; fossils, 

Carolia floridana (?), Mytilus conradinus, Pecten 
marylandicus, Anomia, Area, etc. 15 

1. Concealed by talus to the level of the swamp. 6 

For list of fossils from this locality see page 366. 

Section about 200 yards above Porters Landing. 

Pliocene (?) Feet 

Altamaha formation ? 

10. Coarse, variegated sand with line of small, quartz peb¬ 
bles at base. 25 

Miocene. 

Duplin marl. 

9. Fine, brown sand. 4 

8. Friable marl; shells in a matrix of coarse gray, phos¬ 
phatic sand. Contains large, ribbed Pecten, Anomia 

Area, etc. A few scattered pebbles at base. 2 

Marks Head marl. 

7. Brown and ash-colored, compact, argillaceous sand . . 

6. Compact sand; large, calcareo-phosphatic nodules . . . 

5. Calcareous ledge containing Ostrea mauricensis, 20 30 

feet above the river level. 

4. Poorly exposed, probably sand, (about 4 feet). 

3. Friable marl, shells in a matrix of gray sand, Ostrea 

mauricensis, Pecten marylandicus . 4 

2. Brownish, compact, sandy laminated clay, partly silicified 7 

1. Greenish, sandy clay. 4 

Mount Pleasant Landing. —At Mount Pleasant Landing, one and 
one-half miles below Porters Landing, the Duplin marl is 40 feet 
above the river, and consists of eight feet of friable, highly calcare¬ 
ous shell marl overlain by coarse, brown sand which reaches a thick¬ 
ness of 10 feet. The shell marl here in places approaches some¬ 
what the lithologic character of coquina, or friable shells in a 















374 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


sand matrix, and is similar to some of that observed at Doctortown 
on Altamaha River. Beneath this upper bed is brown, phosphatie 
sand, similar to that at Porters Landing. 

Section at Mount Pleasant Landing , one and one-half miles below 
Porters Landing. 


Age ? Feet. 

1. Sand, and white, tough, waxy, laminated clay with sand 

partings. Stratum poorly exposed. 20 

Miocene ? 

2. Coarse, brown sand. 10 

Miocene. 

Duplin marl. 

3. Friable marl and limestone, contains shells and casts of 

shells, Pecten, etc. 7 

Marks Head marl. 

4. Brownish, phosphatie sand. 25 

5. Greenish, sandy clay, not well exposed. 20 


At the Seaboard Air Line Railway bridge, three miles north of 
Clyo, there is 30 feet of fine-grained, white and yellow, sugar-like 
sand, the basal portion of which contains fine, brown, phosphatie 
grains. While this stratum contains no fossils, its lithologic char¬ 
acter and geologic position suggest that it is of Miocene age. The 
two Miocene divisions (Duplin and M^ks Head) can not be dis¬ 
tinguished. It is overlain unconformably by 15 feet of strata re¬ 
ferred tentatively to the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation; the 
latter formation appears to increase in thickness westward from the 
bluff. 

Sisters Ferry. —At Sisters Ferry, Ga., 47 miles above Savannah,, 
and two miles east of Clyo, there is a good exposure of Miocene 
strata. The beds consist of greenish or gray, very sandy, laminated 
clay in the lower part of the bluff, and of crossbedded, red and white 
sands in the upper part. 

Section at Sisters Ferry, Savannah River, Effingham County . 

Pleistocene. Feet. In. 

11. Thin covering of gray sand at the top of the bluff. 

Pliocene ? 

Altmaha formation ? 

10. Mottled red and yellow sand with some thin clay 

layers . 20 

Miocene ? (Undifferentiated.) 

9. Coarse, crossbedded, yellow, red, and white sand . . 20 

8. Poorly exposed. 10 

7. Drab, laminated clay, contains hard, sandy, calca¬ 
reous nodules, covered with a crust of fibrous 

calcite,. 7 

6. Hard, silicified clay. 0 8 











MIOCENE 


375 


5. Drab clay. 0 3 

4. Hard, silicified, clay. 0 3 

3. Laminated, gray, very sandy clay. 2 6 

2. Hard, silicified clay. 2 

Miocene. 

Marks Head marl. 

1. Very sandy clay, contains some black phosphatic 

particles. 3 


The only fossil which could he identified here was a Pecten mary- 
landicus, which occurs near the base of the bluff. 

About one-half mile below the ferry the dark-colored clays of the 
Miocene appear 25 feet above the level of the river. Southward 
from Sisters Ferry the river flows through low Pleistocene plains, 
and the bluffs along the river do not exceed 30 or 40 feet in height; 
along this stretch of the river there are few localities where satis¬ 
factory studies of the geological formations can be made. 

Frying Pan Landing. —At Frying Pan Landing, eight miles below 
Sisters Ferry, greenish, sandy clay, similar in appearance to that at 
Sisters Ferry, occurs in the lower eight feet of the bluff. 

Section at Frying Pan Landing. 

Feet 


4. Loose, gray sand. 4 

3. Red, clayey sand .'. 10 

2. Brown and white, unconsolidated, rather pure, quartz 

sand . 8 

1. Gray and greenish, sandy clay.8 


There are no determinable fossils and the divisions are made on 
the basis of lithology and geologic position. No. 4 may be safely 
considered Pleistocene. No means are at hand for definitely deter¬ 
mining the age of division No. 3, hut it is probably Pleistocene. No. 
2 is probably Miocene, since the sandy clay of No. 1 is very similar 
lithologically to the Miocene at Sisters Ferry and Porters Landing. 
A similar succession of beds continues to Purisburg, S. C. 

Ebenezer Landing. —At Ebenezer Landing, 34 miles above Sa¬ 
vannah, beds corresponding in position to the Frying Pan Landing 
beds, rise about 18 feet above the river. The lower beds here are 
tentatively referred to the Miocene. They consist of brownish or 
yellow, compact, sandy clays, which contain poor prints and casts of 
fossils, and white and brownish, fine quartz sand. 

Purisburg. —At Purisburg, S. C., 23 miles above Savannah, there 
is a bluff about 10 feet high, which exposes Pleistocene and older for¬ 
mations. 











376 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section at Purisburg, 2$ miles above Savannah . 

Feet In. 

Pleistocene. 

6. Red, sandy clay, containing small pebbles, color due 


to weathering. 1 

5. Drab or white, laminated clay. 3 

4. Line of coarse, quartz pebbles .. 0 3 

Miocene? 

3. Gray or pale green, argillaceous sand. 3 6 

2. Thin line of quartz pebbles. 0 3 

(Unconformity) 

1. Gray or pale green, argillaceous sand. 3 


Below Purisburg only Pleistocene deposits are exposed. . 

ALTAMAHA RIVER 

Bugs Bluff and Buzzards Roost Bluff. —In descending Altamaha 
River the first exposure in which Miocene strata have been certainly 
recognized is at Bugs Bluff, two and one-half miles above Doctor- 
town. Except that it yields no fossils the section is essentially like 
that at Buzzards Roost Bluff, two miles (by the river) above Doctor- 
town. The Buzzards Roost exposure is described in detail as follows: 

Section at Buzzards Roost Bluff, two miles above Doctortown. 

Feet In. 


7. Gray sand covering upper slope . . ;. 2 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha formation ? 

6. Mottled, clayey sand. 10 


5. White, crossbedded, coarse sand, pebbly at the base . 28 

• (Probable unconformity) 

Miocene 

Duplin marl. 

4. Yellow and white, very sandy clay, pebbly in upper 


part, faintly laminated. 5 

3. Blue, almost black, silty clay. 6 

2. Shell and pebble conglomerate, contains Pecteru 

eboreus, Mytilus conradinus . 1 6 

(Unconformity) 

Uligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Bluish gray, massive, compact, clayey sand. 10 


Layer Ho. 2 is made up of well-rounded, quartz pebbles, coarse 
sand and shells. The whole is in places consolidated into a con¬ 
glomerate, calcium carbonate.forming the cement. Large fragments 
of water-worn, silicified wood also occur. The horizon is the same as 
that at Doctortown (Duplin horizon). The remainder of the section 
bears no fossils and the divisions are made upon the basis of physical 
differences and relations. The total thickness of the Miocene is 12 
feet. It is separated from the underlying formations by an erosion 















GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 


PLATE XXVI. 



A. UNCONFORMITY, BETWEEN THE MARKS HEAD MARL AND THE DUPLIN 
MARL, JUST ABOVE ENOCHS WOOD LANDING. SCREVEN COUNTY, 

67% MILES ABOVE SAVANNAH. 



B CHARLTON FORMATION. ST. MARYS RIVER. (FLORIDA SIDE) STOKES 
FERRY, 11 MILES SOUTH OF ST. GEORGE. CHARLTON COUNTY, GA. 
















































































































































MIOCENE 


377 


unconformity, and probably also from the overlying formation by an 
unconformity. 

Doctortown. —At Doctortown, Wayne County, the bluff of Alta- 
maha River is 40 feet high, and near the base of the bluff beds of 
Duplm marl are exposed. The following is a section of the bluff at 
the south end of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bridge. 

Section of Bluff at south end of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Bridge. 


Pliocene ? 

Altamaba (Lafayette ?) formation ? 

6. Yellow and mottled, argillaceous sand. 10 

5. White and yellow, crossbedded sand containing thin 

layers of small, quartz pebbles. 10 

4. Red and yellow, stratified sand containing thin clav 

• laminae. 10 

(Probable unconformity) 

Miocene. 

Duplin marl. 

3. Calcareous, fossilliferous sand, or sandy, friable marl . 1 

2. Bluish sand containing Pecten eboreus, Mactra congesta, 

etc. 4 

(Probable unconformity) 

Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

X. Coarse, bluish or greenish, compact, clayey sand to wa¬ 
ter’s edge. 7 


The relations between layers Nos. 3 and 4 could not be deter¬ 
mined with exactness. Layers Nos. 2 and 3 are Miocene. No. 5 
is considered Oligocene, and the upper part of the bluff is referable 
either to the Pliocene (?) (Altamaha formation) or to the Pleisto¬ 
cene. 

Below Doctortown there are no known exposures of Miocene 
strata, although beds at the bases of Upper and Lower Sansavilla 
Bluffs, 27 and 28% miles, respectively, below Doctortown, may 
belong to this series. 


GLYNN COUNTY 

Brunswick. —At the southern limits of the city at the Atlanta, 
Birmingham, and Atlantic Railroad terminals, a large amount of 
shells and rocks have been dredged from Brunswick River. A study 
of the dredged material leads to the conclusion that the Miocene 
underlies this region and is concealed by a small thickness of later 
formations. The material thrown from the dredge consists of shells, 
fragments of bones and teeth, sand and quartz pebbles, compact, 
sandy marl or shells imbedded in a phosphatic sand matrix, argilla¬ 
ceous limestone, and hard clay. 







378 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


A study of the fossils was made by Dr. Vaughan and they 
were found to range from Miocene to Recent. The dredge probably 
cut through a thin covering of Recent and Pleistocene deposits into 
the Miocene. Dr. Vaughan furnishes the following list of fossils col¬ 
lected from the dredgings: 

List of fossils dredged from Brunswick Piver, Brunswick . 


Septastrea crassa (Holmes). 
Terebra dislocata Say. 

Conus sp. Young. 

Drillia abundans Conrad. 

Oliva literata Say. 

Olivella mutica Say. 

Marginella contracta Conrad. 
Fulgur carcia Linn. 

Ecphora quadricostata Say. 

Nassa vibex Say. 
llyanassa obsoleta Say. 

Nassa acuta Say. 

Columbella avara Say var. 
Astyris lunata Say. 

Turritella variabilis Conrad. 
Turritella plebeia Say? 

Crepidula fornicata Say. 

Neverita duplicata Say. 

Solarium granulatum Lam. 
Fissuridea carolinensis Conrad. 
Dentalium carolmense Conrad. 
Glycymeris parilis Conrad. 
Glycymeris subovatus Conrad. 
Barbatia adamsi Shuttlew. 

Area lienosa Say. 

Area plicatura Conrad. 

Area transversa Say. 

Area incongrua Say. 

Area limula Conrad. . 

Ostra aisparilis Conrad. 

Ostrea virginica Gmelin, P. & R. 


Pecten jeffersonius Say. 

Pecten septenarius Say. 

Pecten madisonius Say. 

Pecten n. sp. ? 

Astarte concentrica Conrad. 

Astarte distans var. floridana Dali. 
Astarte undulata Say var. 

Astarte undulata var. vaginulata Say. 
Astarte cunenormis Conrad. 

Crassa tell ites undulatus Say. 
Crassatellites sp. 

Laraitamera arata Conrad. 
Venericardia granulata Say. 
Echinocnama arcinella Linn. 

Phacoides anodontus (Say). 

Phacoides radians (Conrad). 

Phacoides multineatus (Tuomey & 
Holmes). 

Pha^oide'i amiantus Dali, P. .& R. 
Diplodonta acclinis Conrad. 

Cardium robustum Solander, R. & R. 
Chione cancellata Linn. 

Chione alveata Conrad. 

Unione aff. cortinaria Rogers. 

Donax. 

Malinia congesia Conrad. 

Mulinia congesta var. contracta Con¬ 
rad. 

Mulinia convesta var. elongata Dali. 
Rangia clathrodon Conrad. 

Corbula inaequalis Say. 


“Geologic Horizons. —At least two mixed, most of the species are 
Miocene, those marked P. and R. are Pliocene to Recent, and not 
known from the Miocene; all of the others may be Miocene, and 
many are only in the Miocene. The dredge has cut through what 
is probably Pleistocene or Recent into Miocene strata.” 

Livingston Plantation, —This locality is 18 miles west of Bruns¬ 
wick. The exposure is in the bed of a small creek and can be seen 
only at low tide. 


Section at Livingston Plantation, 


Feet 


Marsh mud 


Recent. 

3. 


2 



PLIOCENE 


379 


Pleistocene. 

2. Greenish gray, argillaceous sand with some smoothly- 
rounded quartz pebbles. Bones and teeth in the lower 

part. 3 

(Unconformity) 

Miocene. 

1. Yellow, argillaceous limestone. 2 

A piece of coarse sandstone loosely cemented by lime, containing 
a Pecten , was obtained at this locality by Prof. McCallie. 

The age of the beds has not been proven by paleontologic evidence. 
Layers Nos. 2 and 3 should probably be referred to the Pleistocene. 
Layer No. 1 is tentatively referred to the Miocene; however, this 
rock is similar lithologically to limestones of probable Pliocene age 
exposed at Burnt Fort on Satilla River, and near Folkston on St. 
Marys River, and future investigations may prove its Pliocene age. 

CAMDEN COUNTY 

Owens Ferry .—At this locality, eight miles west of Woodbine, a 
compact sand and calcareous sandstone is exposed in the bed of 
Satilla River at low tide. This rock contains fossils, but none are 
very well preserved. It is overlain by bluish, coarse-grained, clayey 
sand, while the upper part of the bluff is Pleistocene sand and clay. 
The following fossils from this locality have been identified by 
Dr. Vaughan: 

Fossils from Owens Ferry. 

Pecten, probably madisonius, 

Carditamera arata, 

Cardium sp. 


PLIOCENE 


The existence of strata of Pliocene age in Georgia has not been 
definitely proven. However, certain deposits have been referred 
with greater or less degrees of confidence to this period. The so- 
called Lafayette formation of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain 
has for many years been regarded as of probable Pliocene age. A 
summary of the events leading up to the adoption of the name has 
been given by McGee. 1 In a recent contribution E. W. Berry 2 has 
shown that the name Lafayette, as applied to a surficial formation in 
the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain by McGee and others, is a mis¬ 
nomer, the beds exposed at the type locality in Lafayette County, 
Miss., being in fact of Eocene age and referable to the Wilcox forma¬ 
tion of that series. However, a surficial formation consisting of 


1 Twelfth Ann. Rept., U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1892, pp. 498-502. 

•Journal of Geology, vol. 19, 1911, pp. 249-256. 





380 GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 

sands and heavy beds of gravels resting nnconformably upon Cre¬ 
taceous and Eocene strata, to which the name was intended to apply, 
is extensively developed in certain parts of the northern embayment 
region, especially in Tennessee and Kentucky. 

' The so-called Lafayette formation is represented by McGee as 
covering the whole Coastal Plain of Georgia. Beds considered refer¬ 
able to this formation have been described at numerous localities in 
Georgia by different investigators, hut on the following pages it will 
be shown that,* assuming the formation to be of Pliocene age, many 
of these correlations were erroneous. Frequently the beds so re¬ 
ferred have been found to belong to Cretaceous, Eocene, or Oligo- 
cene formations, or are the weathered, residual products of these for¬ 
mations. Terrace deposits which are clearly of Pleistocene age have 
also been referred to this formation. 

The Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation, a widespread hut rela¬ 
tively thin series of sands and clays covering much of central and 
southern Georgia, is tentatively referred to the Pliocene. Doubtless 
a part of the strata included in the Altamaha terrane is contempo¬ 
raneous with the so-called Lafayette formation. However, the in¬ 
adequacy of our knowledge of the age and stratigraphic relations 
of the Altamaha deposits is conceded. The possibility is also ad¬ 
mitted that the beds here included in this formation may prove to 
be a complex embracing strata of all ages from the Oligocene to the 
Pleistocene. 

Certain fossiliferous strata exposed on Satilla and St. Marys 
rivers have, on paleontologic evidence, been considered as probably 
of Pliocene age. The beds appearing on Satilla River will be de¬ 
scribed in the chapter on the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation, 
since it is believed they are synchronous with at least a part of that 
formation. The exposures on St. Marys River will be described 
under the name Charlton formation. 

On following pages the literature relating to Pliocene or supposed 
Pliocene deposits in Georgia is reviewed. 

HISTORICAL REVIEW 

In 1884 Dr. R. H. Loughridge 1 described beds which he considered 
• of Pliocene age, as follows: 

The Savannah region along the. coast, which occupies the first terrace 
at an elevation of from 10 to 15 feet above tide-water, is assigned to the 
Pliocene formation. Marls or shell beds of this age are found on the Savan¬ 
nah River near the Effingham and Chatham County lines. On Satilla River 
a white marl bed outcrops at Burnt Fort, the head of tidewater, which is 


^enth Census, vol. 6, part II, 1884, p. 16. 



PLIOCENE 


381 


mostly devoid of fossils. In the sand and clay beds of the coast region in 
Lriynn, Chatham, and other counties have been dug up the remains of 
gigantic quadiupeds, such as the mastodon, and along its borders are 
buried stumps of cypress and other trees still standing upright. 


Loughridge referred strata both older and younger than the Plio¬ 
cene. to this period. The “marl or shell beds” on Savannah River 
are in part of Miocene and perhaps in part of Oligocene age. (See 
pp..3^0 376 of this report.) The sands and clays of the coast region 
which bear remains of quadrupeds and contain buried tree stumps 
are believed to be of Pleistocene age. Xo fossils have been identified 
from Burnt Port, but the beds are regarded as the equivalent of the 
fossiliferous beds on St. Marys River (Charlton formation) which 
Dr. ^ aughan regards as probably of Pliocene age. 

In 1891 W J McGee described the deposits in Georgia which he 
regarded as referable to the Lafayette formation. The following 
are quotations from his report with comments by the writers: 

The exposures on both sides of the Chattahoochee River at Columbus 
are specially noteworthy, not only by reason of the clear display of struc¬ 
tural and textural features, but because the terracing which characterizes 
the formation at many localities is here particularly well displayed. Colum¬ 
bus is built on a terrace a mile broad, thinly veneered with “second bot¬ 
tom” (Columbia) loam near the river, but consisting generally of the orange- 
red loam of the Lafayette, massive above, mottled 8 to 15 feet below the 
surface, and more or less definitely bedded below; Phoenix, or Lively, on the 
opposite side of the river, is built on a higher terrace of bronze-tinted 
loam, here containing moderately abundant disseminated pebbles, and 
the many excellent exposures in the railway and street cuttings well display 
the stratification of its lower portion. . . * . . * . . (p. 478.) 

“On examining the materials composing the formation at Columbus, 
certain new features apppear. As usu:l, the upper part of the deposit is 
orange tinted loam, massive, rock-like, undergoing superficial cementation on 
weathering, and flecked or streaked with white; but the color is lighter 
than in Mississippi, the proportion of sand is smaller, the sand grains are 
coarser and more angular, and the flecks and streaks of white are no longer 
of siliceous clay or pulverulent amorphous silica but of kaolinie clay or 
kaolin. The lower portion of the formation displays a bedding as distinct 
as the stratification of Mississippi, but the bedding is simply* a seiaration 
of the loam into heavy, rock-like ledges parted by leaves of clay, sa id, and 
gravel, quite unlike the inter-stratification (with occasional cross-xamina- 
tion) of sands and clays in the western part of the terrace; so, too, the 
materials of the intercalated clay leaves are changed, instead of the silice¬ 
ous pottery clays of Mississippi and Tennessee they are chiefly a kaolin-like 
material, with occasional quartz crystals and mica scales included; and 
the pebbles are no longer oi chert, as in Mississippi and Tennessee, or even 
the mixture of cherts and siliceous dolomites found on Tuscaloosa River, 
but mainly of granular quartz with occasional well worn bits of quartzite, 
(p. 478.) 

“The exposed thickness of the formation about Columbus is generally 
10 to 30 feet; and the combined exposures indicate that while the thickness 
is exceedingly variable it probably reaches a maximum of 50 or 70 feet. 
* * * * (p. 478.) 


’Twelfth Ann. Rept.. U. S Geol. Survey, pt. 1. 1891, pp. 478-480. 




382 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“Along the Chattahoochee River about Columbus, and southward nearly 
or quite to the confluence of the Flint, the Lafayette deposits are not con¬ 
cealed by the newer Columbia formation save along the rivers, which are 
all flanked by the “Second bottom” loams characteristic of the rivers ot 

the eastern Gulf slope * * * (P* 479.) 

“In the vicinity of Columbus, particularly on Mill Creek, between 
Phoenix and Girard, the Lafayette rests, either with or without marked 
unconformity, on the Potomac (Tuscaloosa) arkosic sand and clay; the ma¬ 
terials of the terrace east of the river and north of Columbus generally lie 
on the eroded surface of the Piedmont gneiss; within 2 or 3 miles south of 
Columbus the Lafayette rests unconformably (though sometimes the uncon¬ 
formity is inconspicuous or even imperceptible) on the sands of the Eutaw; 
while still farther southward it reposes with like unconformity successively 
on the Ripley, the various divisions of the argillaceous Eocene (Hilgards 
Lignitic), the White limestone of Smith and Johnson, and Miocene lime¬ 
stones. About Columbus the materials of the basal part of the Columbia, 
of the Lafayette, of the Potomac (Tuscaloosa), and sometimes of the Eutaw, 
contains certain common elements and sometimes approximate in compo¬ 
sition so closely that they may be discriminated only by structural charac¬ 
teristics; and in some of the most conspicuous exposures near the mouth of 
the Mill* Creek the Lafayette and the Potomac (Tuscaloosa) have not been 
certainly discriminated.” (pp. 479-480.) 

The deposits on the plains bordering Chattahoochee River in the 
vicinity of Columbus, and extending down the valley from Colum¬ 
bus, are Pleistocene terrace sediments which rest upon Cretaceous, 
Eocene, and Oligocene strata. 

“The lower portion of Macon is built on a “second bottom plain, but 
the residence part of the city stands on the amphitheater-like slopes sem- 
icircling the terrace occupied by the low-lying business portion; and in 
every street and country roadway, .in every excavation on railways entering 
the city from the west, northwest, and even from the southeast, the orange- 
tinted loams are well displayed, always with the prevailing color and fre¬ 
quently with characteristic structure; so the roads, streets, railways, and 
hill slopes of the most of Macon gleam red against the dark green background 
of the pine-clad hills. Here as elsewhere the material is a loam, containing 
a sufficient element of clay to produce considerable coherence, orange red or 
or sometimes brick-red above, mottled orange yellow at greater depths. 
Here, as elsewhere, the formation is characterized by irregular stratification 
and rather obscure crossbedding in its lower portion, the structure lines be¬ 
ing marked sometimes by ferruginous crusts and sometimes by lines of 
pebbles or gravel grains, but more frequently by sheets of white plastic clay, 
sometimes continuous, sometimes in layers of distinct pellets. Here, as 
elsewhere, the upper part of the deposit is massive, and diplays in an 
eminently satisfactory manner the distinctive semiglazing or case-hardening 
by which the formation is generally characterized. Here, as elsewhere, 
the deposit is frequently pebbly, the pebbles being either arranged in lines of 
stratification or accumulated in pockets and in beds, sometimes assorted 
by size, and as usual the pebbles are commonly disseminated above and 
commonly bedded below; and here, as at Columbus, the pebbles consist 
predominantly of mederately well rounded and subangular fragments of 
quartzite and quartz, ranging from 3 inches in diameter downward, and 
there are in addition a few granitoid fragments, (p. 480.) 

“The relations of the Lafayette formation to the Columbia “second 
bottom” are not well displayed, but the relations to the Potomac are admir¬ 
ably displayed in many exposures. The eminence in the western part of the 
city known as Primrose Hill is a cusp of Potomac arkose only veneered with 


PLIOCENE 


383 


alongmaC t Hnes d rti»n?»f^f t t <:Utt !. ngS al ? d g H 1Iies ^ which « is laid open 
able in strurtnrp o n J ay the tw( J formations in contact, sometimes conform- 
may not be demorfoa T C f 0rd , ant materials to such an extent that they 
and dtacortantTn X- else ™ her . e strongly uncontormable in structure 

the half 5o7?n or composit10 ^ Precisely similar relations are displayed in 
wavin thp l more excellent exposures on the Georgia Southern Rail- 

qutte SiattncT^hiS ^ 1 cit L in SOme of which the formations are 

quite distinct, while in others they intergrade.” (pp. 480-481.) 


u The Physiographic features at Macon are: (1) terrace or 
swamp 15 to 20 feet above the level of Ocmulgee Kiver; (2)' ter- 
J ac f 4:0 t0 50 feet above the first plain; (3) upland plain 100 
to 125 feet, above the second terrace plain. McGee does not describe 
this terracing m detail, but it is inferred that be considered the 
Latayette as occurring on all three plains. Both the second terrace 
and the higher land have gravel and red loam deposits spread over 
them, but these deposits are evidently of different ages since they 
are separated by a vertical interval of as much as 100 feet, and the 
deposits do not appear to form a continuous mantle over the escarp¬ 
ment between the two plains. Those on the lower two plains are 
Pleistocene terrace deposits. The red loam deposits on the high land 
west and south of Macon are lithologically similar to the Eocene 
strata, capping the hills on the east side of Ocmulgee Biver, and it 
is believed that they correspond to them. 

“Over the divide between the Ocmulgee and the Oconee the 
Lafayette appears in many exposures.” (p. 481.) No localities 
where the exposures appear are mentioned. There are in places de¬ 
posits of red sand unconformably overlying the Cretaceous which 
might be mistaken for surficial deposits but which have been shown 
by their contained fossils to be of Eocene age. At other places there 
are similar sands which do not contain fossils, but these can usually 
be traced into fossil-bearing Eocene beds. It is believed, therefore, 
that. McGee has mistaken the red Eocene sands for the Lafaytte for¬ 
mation. 


The formation is mentioned as occurring in the vicinity of Millen 
(p. 481), but no particular locality is described. In this report these 
deposits are considered referable to the Altamaha formation. 


“* * * But on returning to the fall line the normal fall-line fea¬ 

tures recur, as in the fine exposure near Green’s Cut (10 miles south of 
Augusta) where the usual aspect of the massive loam is well displayed. At 
this point the deposit is exceptionally pebbly, to the extent, indeed, that it 
has been largely worked as gravel for railway ballast, the pebbles ranging 
from 2 inches down, the most abundant dimensions being three-fourths to 
one and one-quarter inches; the materials are predominantly quartz and 
quartzite, with no chert, the prevailing form being fairly well rounded, and 
the pebbles are accumulated in layers, sometimes discontinuous, in which it 
is occasionally cross-bedded, though even in these layers the gravel is 
nowhere clean, the pebbles being simply disseminated closely throughout a 


384 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


matrix of loam just as the finer sand grains are disseminated through a clay 

matrix in the loamy parts of the formation. (p. 481.) 

* 

At Greens Cut on the Central of Georgia Railway, 27 miles south 
of Augusta (probably the locality referred to in the above descrip¬ 
tion), is a deposit of mottled sands and gravels overlying the Barn¬ 
well sand of the Claiborne group. These have much the aspect of 
the Altamaha formation which appears to the southward and they 
are believed to be referable to it. 


“In central Georgia the Lafayette forms the surface ^on the Ocmul^ee 
and the Oconee rivers, save where the “second bottoms ove 1 * 1 ^ jL ^ 
farther eastward, on the Ogechee as well as toward Savannah, the distinc¬ 
tive “second bottoms” proper disappear, and the coast-sand mantle stretch 
ing up from the seashore, and along the Savannah finally overlaps the 
Lafavette and extends upon the Piedmont gneiss, from which the orange- 
tinted formation has been removed, if it was ever deposited. (p. 481.) 


Just what is meant by “second bottoms” is not clear, but here, as 
elsewhere in Georgia, the materials occupying definite _plains bor- 
derm°' the rivers are considered Pleistocene ten ace deposits. 

to 

“In southwestern Georgia, e. g., about Thomasville, the characteristic 
orange tinted or brick-red loams (in this direction the colors strengthen) 
are not concealed by the coastal sands of the Columbia epoch, except about 
the lower levels; but in southeastern Georgia there is a more or less contin¬ 
uous mantle of these sands, by which the Lafayette is commonly buried from 
sight. In passing southward from Thomasville the features of this forma¬ 
tion and its relations to the Columbia are well displayed.” (p. 482.) 


The so-called Lafayette materials referred to in the preceding quo¬ 
tation are in this report considered referable to the Altamaha for¬ 
mation 5 they overlie the Alum Bluff formation (Oligocene). 

“The Lafayette is well exposed on the southern bank of St. Mary s 
River, near Traders Hill. Here the upper part is orange brown or drab and 
massive for a few feet, but it quickly becomes regularly bedded, the heavier 
layers of brown or gray clayey loam separated by leaves of gray silt and 
brown or drab sand. It is again displayed in many railway cuttings about 
Waycross, where the upper massive member is better developed yet decid¬ 
edly less distinctly massive, orange-tinted, and casehardened than in cen¬ 
tral Georgia, while the lower part is always stratified. It is revealed to a 
depth of 40 feet or more at Doctortown in a railway cutting. through a 
natural bluff overlooking the Altamaha; here the upper member is ill devel¬ 
oped or absent and the mass is stratified throughout, consisting of alterna¬ 
tions of brown loam and white silt above and in the lower part of the 
exposure these become, respectively, blue or gray clay and light colored sand. 
Still farther northward the formation approaches within 10 miles of the sea 
islands and inlets in the Cherokee Ridge on the southern side of the Savan¬ 
nah. The upper massive member is fairly displayed here, though orange 
yellow rather than of the characteristic color, while the lower portion con¬ 
sists of stratified sand with fine gravel disposed in sheets.” (p. 484.) 


A detailed section at the Atlantic Coast Line bridge near Folks- 
ton, probably the Traders Hill locality, is given on page 398 of 


PLIOCENE 


385 


tiiis report, and the stratigraphic relations of the beds discussed. 

he strata above the Charlton formation (probably Pliocene) are 
considered of probable Pleistocene age. The materials exposed near 
AA aycioss are, in this report, considered a part of the Altamaha for¬ 
mation. The beds above the fossiliferous Miocene marl at Doctor- 
tovn are tentatively referred to the Altamaha formation, although 
they may be Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

Superb exposures of the Lafayette, displaying the usual fall line fea¬ 
tures, occur on Savannah River about Augusta. The characters and struc- 

+ A e << lons k ere represent those exemplified at Columbus and Macon, save 
that the second bottom” phase of the Columbia is replaced by a series of 
sandy terraces running up into the prevailing coastal sands.” (p. 484.) 

It is probable that both Pleistocene and Eocene deposits at Augusta 
have been mistaken for the Lafayette. The Pleistocene beds are de¬ 
scribed on page 433 of this report. 

d Munnerlyn are mentioned by McGee as localities 
where the Lafayette may be observed. The materials at both lo¬ 
calities appear to be identical in character with those of the Alta¬ 
maha formation, which is well exposed to the southward of these 
localities. s 

In 1891 J. W. Spencer 1 also gave detailed descriptions of sup¬ 
posed occurrences of Lafayette strata in Georgia. The following are 
quotations from his report, with comments by the writers: 

“At Rich Hill, about six miles southeast of Knoxville, the same red 
loam forms a capping at an elevation of 835 (?) feet; and near by, gravel 
is seen on the hills at fifty feet below. At both these localities, the loam 
forms a capping for both the surface and the sides of the hills, where the 
underlying formations were incised by former eroding streams. This condi¬ 
tion is common to the formation, as it forms a sheet alike over the ancient 
hills and greater valleys. The base of this loam, especially in the vicinity 
of the greater rivers, passes into a well marked bed of rounded quartz 
gravel, sometimes three inches in length. Such gravel is seen upon the 
hills between Knoxville and the Flint River, at elevations of 130 feet 
above its modern high water. South of Knoxville the red loamy surface is 
replaced by a belt of loose gray sand.” 

The red loam capping Rich Hill is probably of Eocene age. The 
materials at lower levels in this vicinity are in part residual sands 
and in part Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

“The country south of this point is, commonly speaking, a high plain 
somewhat incised by streams. The surface is generally composed of the 
orange loam, which varies in thickness from zero to 20 feet, as shown in the 
railroad cuts south of Gaillard’s. 

“At Fort Valley, this red loam or clay reaches a depth of 2 feet, as 
shown in the artesian well. About three miles south of Fort Valley, there 
is an excellent exposure in the railroad cut on the road to Americus. 


J First Report of Progress of the Geological Survey of Georgia, 1891, pp. 60-72. 



386 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“ 1 . 


2 . 

3. 

4. 

“No. 1 represents our Lafayette deposit, and I am inclined to place even 
the lower members as belonging to an earlier episode of that period. 

“In a neighboring washout, the red loam has a thickness of ten teet, 
underlaid by beds of whitish clay from 4 inches to 2 feet thick, intercalated 
with sand beds. Some of these sands are deep red, and others gray or 
white; beneath the whole are white sands. This section reaches a total 

thickness of about 25 feet. . , ... .. ^ 

“Prom Fort Valley southward, the level plateau is covered with the 
red loam of argillaceous texture. West of Winchester, sections of this 
superficial material are well shown, where about eight feet of orange clayey 
sand rests upon laminated sands in white and colored bands. Upon the 
higher plateau, above Montezuma, the red loams prevail; but in descending 
to the Flint valley, the underlying gray sands form the surface soils. I his 
is true over the lower country about Montezuma, and, indeed, for many 
miles in the direction of Americus. But the higher hills are everywhere 
capped with the orange loam. 

“Along Flint River, many sections of the Lafayette loam are seen lorm- 
ing the bottom lands. The best section, in its relation to other rocks, is 
shown about two miles south of the great bend, in the river in closest prox¬ 
imity to Everett station. That section is here given. 

Feet 

“1. Orange loam or sandy clay. 8 

2. Light bluish clay with irregular joints stained red . . 6 

3. Orange and gray clayey sand, unconformable above and 

below.. ^'9 

4. Coarse light bluish clay, unconformable above and 

below. ^ 

5. Orange-colored quartz gravel, unconformable above . 10 

6. Coarse white sand cemented with clay, exposed ... 4 

“The upper three members and the fourth member represent two dis¬ 
tinct episodes, as shown by,the unconformity. At the ferry, between Win¬ 
chester and Garden Valley, the mantle of orange loam is well developed, 
reaching from near the river to the surface of the country 210 feet above it, 
this occupying alike the hill and the old valley. Here, the deposit is of a 
more sandy character than adjacent to Fort Valley, and the lower beds are 
cemented into occasional blocks of ferruginous sandstone.” 


Feet 


Deep colored red loam or hard sandy clay, with rounded 
gravel in the lower two feet, resting upon an eroded 

surface... • • * 

White and red mottled clay with surface eroded . . . 

Thin laminated sand with clay partings. 

Laminated sand in colors from black to white exposed . 


6-10 
7- 3 
2 

10 


The deep red materials forming the upland surface at Fort Valley 
and southward to the vicinity of Montezuma are in this report con¬ 
sidered of Eocene age, and probably referable to the Claiborne group. 
The materials on the low plains bordering Flint River from Monte¬ 
zuma up the river to Everett Station are Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

LAFAYETTE AND COLUMBIA MANTELS IN THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY 

“In the vicinity of Columbus, both the Lafayette and Columbia forma¬ 
tions are best shown in the railway cut, and in the ravines upon the Alabama 
side of the river. The upper of these consists of about ten feet of red loam 
underlaid by from one to four feet of coarse gravel. This formation rests 







PLIOCENE 


387 


upon the eroded surface of the Tuscaloosa series. The Columbia series 
rests unconformabiy upon the older and constitutes the plains at Columbus, 
which rise about one hundred feet above the river and 260 feet above the 
+ J « niS formation is made up of bluish sand and alluvial clay. 

About five miles south of Columbus, just beyond Upatoi Creek, on the road to 
Cusseta, there are other fine exposures of the older deposits. 

Feet 

“1. Orange loam . 10 

2. Laminated, colored sands with a streak of whitish clay; 
this bed is completely cut through by the valley of an 
ancient branch about twenty feet wide, which is now 


filled with the over-lying red or orange loam.6 

3. White and stained clayey coarse sand.8 

4. Gray sandy clay. 6 


l 0n nei S hborin g hills, the gravels are found at an elevation of about 
ooO feet above the river, which is two or three miles distant. 

At many points along the Chattahoochee River, this orange loam cap¬ 
ping is characterized by drift logs at its base; these probably belong to the 
- ounger system of deposits, although sometimes of a different color from 
those at Columbus. 

“Steward’s Hill, six miles north of Georgetown, displays the finest ex¬ 
posures of the Lafayette series seen anywhere in Georgia. This hill rises 
265 feet above the river; the lower 145 feet belong to Cretaceous beds; the 
overlying 120 feet constitute the Lafayette sand or loam. 

Feet 

1. “First bench of loamy sand, drab or reddish; the lower 


three inches cemented with iron.30 

2. Second bench, like the first, with sandstone cemented 

at base.10 

3. Ditto of a redder color, but at base there are three feet 

of sandy clay.20 

4. Variegated colored laminated clayey sands.40 

5. Ditto partially concealed.20 

6. Cretaceous deposits . 145 


“The lamination is not always well marked. The sands vary from white 
to red. Through one of tne beds there is a layer of coarse pellets, produc¬ 
ing a fine conglomerate. In this region, the gravels occur along the sides 
of valleys tributary to the Chattahoochee, but are not found at Steward’s 
Hill. The gravels appear to be characteristic of the plateau to which 
Columbus belongs. This condition is shown in the high terrace of Eufaula 
(125 feet above the river), where there is a thick gravel floor. That terrace 
is bounded on the west by hills covered with Lafayette loam. At Fort 
Gaines, a similar condition is found. The surface of the same terrace is cov¬ 
ered with twenty feet of red clayey sand or loam, the lower part of which 
is composed of quartz gravel. 

“The railway cuts east of Georgetown expose excellent sections. 

“Along the river, about four miles above Columbia, Alabama, a fine 
exposure of orange loam was seen rising twenty or thirty feet above the 
river. In this loamy deposit, a piece of gneiss was found, in size 8 to 6 by 4 
inches, and some smaller pieces of mica schist. These transported stones 
could not have been brought from a point nearer than Columbus, seventy- 
five miles distant in a straight line. They could not have been trans¬ 
ported by waves, but were probably carried southward entangled in the 
roots of driftwood. 

“The terrace in the extreme southwest corner of the State, near Chat¬ 
tahoochee village, has approximately the same altitude as at Columbus and 
Fort Gaines. Its surface and sides are covered, throughout a vertical 
range, of one hundred feet, with the same orange-colored sandy clay or loam. 












388 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


“From these descriptions, it will be seen that orange-colored or red 
sandy loam extends througnout the whole length ot the river from the 
highest altitudes of the country to the present flood plains.” 

The deposits on the plains bordering Chattahoochee River at Co¬ 
lumbus, Eufaula, Georgetown, and Fort Gaines are Pleistocene ter¬ 
race sediments which rest directly upon Cretaceous, Eocene, and 
Oligocene strata. There is question as to the age of some of the 
gravels on the upland east of Columbus, but since gravel beds are 
known in both the underlying Lower Cretaceous beds and in the 
Eutaw formation of the Upper Cretaceous, it is considered probable 
that they are all of Cretaceous age. The section at Stewards Hill 
is referable in its entirety to the Ripley formation of the Cretaceous. 

“LAFAYETTE AND COLUMBIA MANTELS IN THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHWEST GEORGIA 

“Throughout the highlands of Decatur and Thomas counties conditions 
similar to those along the great rivers prevail. Thus, near Whigham 
station we see the following section: 

Feet 

“1. Orange or red loam passing beneath into a lighter and 

more clayey layer.4-8 

2. Redish and light colored mottled clayey sand with light 

patches of clay; only the upper portion is laminated; the 
lower part is somewhat snarply defined, and in other 
places apparently passes into. 8 

3. Laminated white and purple clay with red micaceous and 

sandy partings. This bed shows undulations .... 3 

4. Laminated red sand with clayey partings. 6 

“No. 1 belongs to the Columbia and possibly to the No. 2 and No. 3 

Lafayette series. In the Attapulgus Creek district, the orange or red loam 
varies from two to eight feet, and often passes imperceptibly into bluer clay, 
which occasionally graduates into banded clay. 

“On the Tnomasville road, nine miles east of Bainbridge, the orange loam 
is conspicuous. There, a rolling hill-country, covered with this red deposit, 
bounds the sand-covered plains of Bainbridge. In a washout, the lower 
portion of the loam, which is 8 or 10 feet thick, contains irregular pockets 
of cherty fragments derived from the adjacent rock. At one point, this 
loam rests upon blue clay. In some localities, this subjacent clay is seen; 
at others the underlying material is quicksand. The explanation of this 
condition was not obtained until the observation was made in the railway 
cut about a mile west of Climax, on the road to Bainbridge, showing the 
following section: 

Feet 


“1. Orange or red loam passing below into a red and 
white clayey material, with some ferruginous con¬ 
cretions . 4-12 

2. Laminated sands, in colors from white to black, with 

clay film partings. 0-12 

At the west end of this section the sand is traversed * 
by two seams of white clayey matter about 8 inches 
thick. It rest upon the eroded surface of 

3. Whitish sandy clay. 4-8 

4. A hand of sand from white to dark red in color with 

some slightly clayey seams; exposed in places . . 8 

5. Miocene, white sandy clay, exposed. 0-16 










PLIOCENE 


389 


from* 1 ?o Y a ? tin / at the eastern end of the cut, but No. 1 rests upon 

at thp wPQtorn eet ot a ® and y clay (Miocene) No. 5 which is not exposed 
thp \Tinppn« er ^ ° f , the section * Tw 9 unconformable deposits succeed 
Thii<a ic p A be ower °f the two is sometimes completely wanting. 

hPTipo+iJ explained the occassional absence of the sand, which is so often seen 

* -T 1 ’ namel y» on account of its entire removal by erosion, be¬ 

fore the deposition of the superficial red loam. 

many places, in these southern counties, the orange loam rests 
?^ e ^ ly L 1 * 011 * he deposits of apparently Miocene age. On the higher lands, 
J e 9 l° n a . m * s aot covered by any superficial material, but at elevations inferior 
to zuo teet above the sea, a superficial water washed sand (Columbia series) 
may be seen, at many places, resting upon the loam. This superficial sand, 
at the phosphate beds, west of Boston, has a depth of a foot and a half, 
throughout the lower and more level counties of Mitchell, Miller, Baker, 
Dougherty and Calhoun, the loam is apt of itself to be sandy, and covered 
with a sandy soil, either directly derived from the loam, or perhaps in¬ 
directly by the waves acting temporarily in some lagoon, which may formerly 
have covered these counties. This last explanation appears to be sustained 
by the presence of duny sand ridges rising to a height of twenty feet, on the 
east mde of the Flint River, opposite Newton. 

. ^ further characteristic of this orange or red sandy clay or loam 

is that its lower portion consists of a bed of gravel, in the vicinity of the 
ancient valleys. Thus, on the hills, above the last bridge over the Upatoi 
Creek, the gravel occurs at an elevation of 350 feet above the Chattahoochee 
River, which is two or three miles distant. These pebbles diminish in 
importance on going southward, and were not seen near the Florida bound¬ 
ary. But, as if to take their place, fragments of limestone, or in phosphatic 
regions, pebbles of phosphate occur in portions of the beds. In this way the 
character of the subjacent rocks is detected by the hillocks being covered 
with such loose masses, secondarily derived from the drift. 


“As was noted before, at one or two points along the Chatahoochee, 
drift boulders from the crystalline rocks far away were found. The same 
holds true along the Flint and in other regions. This evidence of partial 
transportation of the material of the loam is not needed to explain its source; 
for it is generally so charged with hydrated micaceous particles as to at once 
tell that a considerable portion of it has been derived from the decayed 
crystalline rocks of Middle Georgia; which had also contained the quartz 
veins, whence the quartz pebbles, in the gravelly portions of the formation, 
originated. However, their partial local origin is attested by the presence in 
many localities of fragments of the subjacent rocks.” 


The deposits in southwestern Georgia referred by Spencer to the 
Lafayette formation are included in the present report in the Alta- 
maha formation. 

In 1898, in connection with his study of the clays of the Fall Line 
region, Dr. Geo. E. Ladd 1 made some observations on supposed Lafay¬ 
ette strata, occurring in the Fall Line region. Following the theories 
advanced by McGee and Spencer, Ladd assumed that the Lafayette 
formation was a surficial deposit which covered the entire Coastal 
Plain. 


“the COLUMBIA AND LAFAYETTE FORMATIONS'” 

“The formations of the Cretaceous and Tertiary succeed each other, 
without any long continued land intervals, geologically speaking; and, 


1 Clays of Georgia : Geol. Survey of Georgia, Bull. No. 6-A, 1898. 



390 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


in spite of the unconformities mentioned, they rest, one on another, in a gen¬ 
erally conformable series. At the close of the Miocene Period, however, 
South Georgia stood for a long time high above the sea, the great rivers 
carved broad and deep valleys, cutting down, in places, to a depth of 350 
feet below the general surface level, for a breadth of several miles, the 
topograpuic features of the region becoming pronounced, (p. 88.) 

“Following this land epoch, however, came a new subsidence, the shore¬ 
line moving inland to the present Fall Line, and, in places, somewhat beyond 
it. During this subsidence, when elevations, now 800 feet above the level 
of the sea, were washed by its waves, deposits of sand, clay and gravel were 
spread irregularly, sometimes to the depth of 150 feet like a huge mantle 
over the hills and valleys, which had been carved out, during the land epoch. 
The materials of this formation can be found all over southern Georgia. 
They rest on the hill-tops, on their slopes, and on the floors of the valleys, 
and greatly interfere with geological research. This formation is known as 
the Lafayette, (pp. 88-89.) 

“After a comparatively brief subsidence, there was re-emergence, when 
new valleys were cut, often through the Lafayette, and penetrating the 
underlying strata. Then took place a final submergence and a deposition 
of the superficial sands and gravels, which make up Columbia formation. 
The Columbia and Lafayette formations are unconformable with reference 
to each other; they also lie unconformably upon the Tertiary and Cretace¬ 
ous strata; and along the margin of the Coastal Plain even upon the crys¬ 
tallines of the Piedmont Plateau. * * * (p. 89.) 

“The Lafayette gravels are cnaracterized by cross bedding, rapid trans¬ 
ition from coarse to fine material, and generally, by a deep-red color, result¬ 
ing from the oxidation of iron-bearing material. It frequently has a mot¬ 
tled appearance which is noticeable in the sides of gullies and cuts. The pre¬ 
vailing red color is frequently broken by a net-work of gray and blue tints, 
which mark the former position of the roots of trees and shrubs where the 
iron oxide has been' “reduced” by the organic compounds resulting from 
their decay.” (p. 90.) 

Ladd states that Rich Hill, Crawford County, is capped with 
Lafayette strata (p. 91). As previously stated, the red materials 
on this hill are probably of Eocene age. 

“Tne Fall Line crosses the Ocmulgee River beneath the Macon foot¬ 
bridge; and here are exposed boulders and outcropping ledges of the hard 
Piedmont crystallines. Overlying them are the Columbia terraces; and east 
and west mounting over, but capping, the Tertiary heights are the white, 
red and orange gravels and sands of the Lafayette, (p. 101.) 

The thought expressed is that the terrace materials belong to the 
Columbia division of McGee, and that the Lafayette formation is’ 
confined to the heights and rests upon Tertiary strata. As pre¬ 
viously stated, the gravels and red loams on the upland at Macon 
overlie Cretaceous strata and probably belong to the Claiborne group 
of the Eocene. 

Gravel deposits occurring at Yineville and at Rutley [Rutland] 
are referred by Ladd to the Lafayette formation (pp. 102, 103). In 
the present report these are considered terrace deposits belonging to 
the Okefenokee formation (Pleistocene). 

Ladd also described sands and gravels which he considered refer¬ 
able to the Lafayette formation, at Griswoldville, Jones County 


PLIOCENE 


391 


(p. 106); at Gordon; at McIntyre, Wilkinson County (pp. 

120, 130) ; at Stevens Pottery, Baldwin County (pp. 138, 139) ; at 
Chalker, Washington County (p. 151) ; and near Belair, Richmond 
County (p. 161). These materials are said to form mantles over 
Cretaceous or Tertiary strata, or over both. After having studied 
many exposures in this region the present writers have reached the 
conclusion that Ladd has mistaken for the Lafayette formation both 
Eocene and Cretaceous strata in place, and the residual creep ma¬ 
terials derived from these strata. This opinion is based partly upon 
paleontologic evidence and partly upon the lithologic resemblances of 
the supposed Lafayette materials to the Eocene and Cretaceous strata 
of the region. 

R. M. Harper 1 2 has discussed the occurrence of supposed Lafayette 
deposits in Georgia as follows: 

“When tnoroughly decomposed by atmospheric agencies the Grit can 
often hardly he distinguished from the Lafayette loam, and in railroad cuts 
and other artificial excavations which exposes the indurated Grit it is 
sometimes impossible to say whether there is any Lafayette above it or not. 

“The Lafayette probably covers more than 99 per cent, of the Altamaha 
Grit region, but its presence cannot easily be proved, for the reason just 
stated, and also because neither it nor the Grit is fossiliferous. Little if 
anything is known as to its maximum thickness in this region. In composi¬ 
tion it is a loam, containing probably as much sand as clay. Farther inland 
it is often brick-red, but in the Altamaha Grit region, and in pine-barrens 
generally, its color is considerably lighter and might be described as terra¬ 
cotta.” 

Although assuming that the Lafayette formation is present as a 
surficial covering over practically all of the Altamaha region, Harper 
admits that “its presence can not easily be proved.” The present 
writers have not been able to differentiate any surficial formation 
other than residual gray sands and the Pleistocene deposits which 
along the rivers and towards the coast rest upon the Altamaha beds 
as terrace accumulations. In their opinion the loams referred to the 
Lafayette formation by Harper are the weathered residual products 
of the Altamaha strata. 

The following description of the Lafayette is given by Professor 
' McCallie : 

“Lafayette .—The Lafayette, whose exact position in the geologic time 
scale is still debated, like the Columbia formation, is a superficial deposit, 
covering most of the Coastal Plain. The formation consists of orange and 
vari-colored clays and sands, with local beds of gravel. The basal member 
of the formation along the Fall Line frequently becomes distinctly pebbly. 
These water-worn pebbles, which consist largely of quartz derived from the 
crystalline rocks to the north, occur irregularly distributed throughout the 


1 Annals New York Acad. Sci., Vol, 71. pt. 1, 1906. p. 23. 

2 Geol. Survey of Ga., Bull. 15. 1908, p. 30. 



392 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


vari-colored sandy clays, but more often they are found in layers or pockets. 
They also occur in the basal member, at places, with fragments of white 
clay forming more or less continuous layers. These phases of the lower di¬ 
vision of the formation become less pronounced in the southern part of the 
State, where sandy loam and vari-colored stratified clays predominate. 

“The upper member of the formation differs from the lower in being 
more uniform, both in physical structure and lithological character. Along 
the Fall Line, at some points, it becomes quite pebbly; however, as a general 
rule, it is made up almost entirely of massive reddish or motley sandy clays. 
Frequently, the massive clays of the upper division are hardened into a com¬ 
pact mass, having almost the consistency of sandstone. This indurated layer 
resists the erosive action of surface water; and, by being undermined by 
the washing away of the layers below, it often stands out in high, perpendic¬ 
ular walls. Excellent illustrations of this mode of erosion are frequently 
met with in the vicinity of streams, which have lowered their channels into 
the underlying formations. 

“The thickness of the Lafayette formation is quite variable. At some 
places, near the northern margin, where it has been protected by the Colum¬ 
bia sands, it attains a maximum thickness of more than 80 feet; at other 
points, it has been entirely removed by erosion. These eroded areas are 
quite irregular in outline, and may occur at any point throughout the 
Coastal Plain. They are more frequently met with, however, in the vicinity 
of the larger streams; yet, they are not entirely absent from the level piney 
woods.” 

Following McGee and others, McCallie has referred to the Lafay¬ 
ette formation deposits both older and younger than Pliocene. 

In the opinion of the writers the existence of the so-called Lafay¬ 
ette formation in Georgia has not been proven. Assuming the ter- 
rane to be of Pliocene age, it is probable that at least a part of the 
beds referred in this report to the Altamaha formation are synchro¬ 
nous with it. Other than these the formation probably has no repre¬ 
sentatives in Georgia. 


CHARLTON FORMATION 


The name Charlton is derived from Charlton County Ga., and is 
applied to an argillaceous' limestone and clay formation exposed in 
the banks and bluffs of St. Marys River, from Stokes Ferry, 11 miles 
south of St. George, Charlton County, Ga., to Orange Bluff, near 
Kings Ferry, Fla. This formation, however, may also occur on the 
Satilla River 1 and the probability of limestone beds at Burnt Fort, 
12 miles northeast of Folkston being equivalent, has been mentioned 
on a preceding page. From a study of the fossil collections from 
St. Marys localities, Dr. Vaughan has classified the formation as 
probably of Pliocene age. 

In previous publications there are a few scattered references to 
the formations exposed along St. Marys River, but the authors have 

1 Notb.—A fossiliferous marl has recently been found near the Satilla ftiver, on the 
land of W. M_ Thrift, six miles east of Winokur, Charlton County. It resembles some 
of the marl on St. Marys River and is of probable Pliocene or Miocene age.—O. V. 



GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIX OF GEORGIA 


PLATE XXVII. 



A. EXPOSURE OF CHARLTON FORMATION. ST. MARYS RIVER. (FLORIDA 
SIDE), ONE MILE ABOVE TRADERS HILL CHARLTON COUNTY, GA. 



P CHARLTON FORMATION. ST. MARYS RIVER. AT A. C. L. R. R. BRIDGE, 
THREE MILES SOUTHEAST OF FOLKSTON. CHARLTON COUNTY, GA. 

















































































































































PLIOCENE 


393 


made little or no attempt at correlation. The relations of the Charl¬ 
ton formation to other formations on St. Marys River are graphically 
shown m the profile, fig. 4, page 47. & p j 

The relations of the Charlton formation to the Miocene are not 
e ni ^ ^ Stokes Ferry, the top of the formation is 1 per¬ 

haps 6 0 or 35 feet above sea level, and it descends gradually down 
stream, reaching tide level. According to the geological map of 
.rlorida by Matson and Clapp 1 the Jacksonville formation /'Miocene) 
outcrops at elevations of 50 to 100 feet above sea level, a short dis¬ 
tance south and east of St. Marys Eiver. Beds, from which Dr. 
Vaughan has identified Miocene fossils, are exposed at low tide at 

ens erry, Satilla Eiver, Camden County, Ga. In view of these 
occurrences of Miocene the Pliocene beds on St. Marys Eiver, if 
correctly correlated, may occupy an erosion basin in Miocene strata, 
or, if the latter are absent beneath them, they may rest in a similar 
basin in pre-Miocene strata probably referable to the Alum Bluff 
formation (Oligocene). The great thickness 2 attributed to the Mio¬ 
cene at Jacksonville, 460 feet, and the fact that the Miocene 
there is supposed to lie unconformably upon the Vicksburg, 
makes the former alternative seem the more probable one. There 
are no data for estimating the thickness of the formation; only 12 or 
15 feet have been observed in natural exposures. 

The strata are poorly fossiliferous, and it is difficult to correlate 
the beds on the basis of their fos'sil contents. The formation is char¬ 
acterized at two or three localities by an abundance of ostracods. All 
of the fossils which have been identified from the formation are given 
on succeeding pages. 

Eegarding the age of the formation, Dr. Vaughan, in unpub¬ 
lished notes, says: 


“None of the material [fossils] between Hicks Bluff and Orange Bluff can 
be older than Pliocene, and although not a single extinct species was col¬ 
lected, it may be Pliocene. The two species of ostracods listed by Doctor 
Bassler from Rand Landing and Clay Landing appear to be recent. As the 
material from Stokes Ferry seems to be the same as that from Rand and 
Clay landing it is probably of the same age. [Pliocene.]” 


LOCAL DETAILS 


ST. MARYS RIVER. 

Stokes Ferry .—The point farthest up St. Marys Eiver at which 
hard rock of the Charlton formation appears is at Stokes Ferry, 11 
miles south of St. George, Ga. The exposure is in a low bluff on the 
Florida side, about 100 yards below the ferry. Orange-colored loam 


1 Second Ann. Rept., Geol. Survey of Florida, 1909. 

2 Idem. 



394 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


overlain by gray sand appears in an escarpment a short distance back 
from the river at a higher level than the strata described in the fol¬ 
lowing section: 

Section at Stokes Ferry 

Pleistocene Feet 

Satilla formation. 

4. Dark colored sand; contains vegetrole matter; thickness 

variable. 4 

3. Coarse, greenish, argillaceous sand. Line of rounded, flat, 
or discoidal quartz peimles, some as much as two 

inches in diameter, along base. 2 

(Unconformity) 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

2. Dreenish or urab, stiff, tenacious clay containing calcar¬ 
eous concretions; ostracods and some phosphatic parti¬ 
cles, maximum..4 to 5 

1. Limestone containing ostracods, small gastropods, 

and casts of small bivalves. 1 

The limestone at the base is a hard, spongy, or cellular, siliceous 
rock; about one foot is exposed at low stages of the river. Beds 
Nos. 1 and 2 appear for about 150 or 200 feet along the river bank 
beyond which they are replaced by the more recent Pleistocene. 
Loose fragments of bones and mammal teeth were found here, and 
from their position on the slopes of the bluff it is inferred that they 
came either from bed No. 2 or bed No. 3. 

Ricks Bluff. —Except at one point only late Pleistocene sands and 
clays are exposed at this locality; however, the orange-colored, ar¬ 
gillaceous sands', which in this region overlie the Charlton formation, 
appear in an escarpment leading to the higher land about 300 yards 
back from the river. 


Section at Hicks Bluff 

Pleistocene. Feet. 

Satilla formation. 

3. Dark-colored, thin line of quartz peobles at base . 3 to 10 


(Unconformity) 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

2. Greenish, sticky, sandy clay, maximum. 4 

1. Soft, argillaceous, fossiliferous limestone; contains 
Pecten gibbus , Phacoides multilineatus and Laev- 
icardium, maximum thickness. 4 


The limestone and clay appear as a small erosion dome covered 
by late Pleistocene sand. The limestone is richer in- fossils than at 
any other locality on the river. A few fragments of bones and 
mammal teeth were found. 








PLIOCENE 


395 


Ko exposures of hard rock are known between Hicks Bluff and 
Bed Bluff. 

. Red Bluff .—The section at Bed Bluff on the Florida side of the 
river, two miles east of St. George, Ga., is described as follows: 

Section at Red Bluff. 

Pleistocene? 

4. Partly concealed, and in part gray sand 
3. Vari-colored sand 
Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

2. Drab, sandy clay. 

1. Sandy, fossiliferous limestone. 

From the limestone bed Dr. Vaughan has identified the follow- 
ing fossils: 


Feet 

10 

26 


7 

1.5 


Fossils from limestone bed at Red Bluff. 

Leda acuta Conrad. Pecten sp. 

Barbatia marylandica Conrad. Lithophaga sp. 

Area umbonata Lamarck. Phacoides or Diplodonta. 

Schoolhouse Bluff. —A section similar to the preceding is exposed’ 
at Schoolhouse Bluff, about four miles below the Georgia Southern 
and Florida Bailroad bridge, and one mile below old Drewry Ferry. 

Section at Schoolhouse Bluff. 

Pleistocene. 

7. Gray or white sand at top of bluff. 

6. Orange-colored, argillaceous sand with clay at 
the base, and beneath the clay a thin line of 
small quartz pebbles. 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

5. Greenish, fine-grained, sticky clay. 

4. Soft limestone, and siliceous, fossiliferous ma¬ 
terial with ostracods and Rangia cuneata . 

3. White, calcareous clay. 

2. Hard, earthy, argillaceous limestone .... 

1. Chalky, argillaceous limestone with small gas¬ 
tropods .. . 

Rand Landing. —This bluff is located about two miles below the 
old Drewry Ferry, and about five miles, by land, below the Georgia 
Southern and Florida Railroad bridge. 

Section at Rand Landing. 

Pleistocene? Feet In. 

12. Poorly exposed orange-colorea argillaceous 
sand; line of small quartz pebbles along 
base.'. 


Feet. In. 
4 to 5 


12 ” Id 


3 

1 

3 

u 4 

2 6 


20 












396 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. Feet. In. 

10. Thin, nodular, limestone layer .... I 4 to 5 

9. Greenish clay.J 

8. White and greenish laminated clay with poor¬ 
ly preserved prints of fossils. 0 4 

7. Greenish, laminated clay. 1 6 

6. Cream-colored, argillaceous limestone ... 0 6 

5. White, calcareous clay. 2 

4. Soft calcareous material containing ostra- 

cods, Bythocypris, Cytherella . 1 

3. Limestone, non-fossiliferous. 0 10 

2. White, calcareous clay. 2 

1. Rather hard, argillaceous limestone .... 2 10 


Stratum No. 1 is apparently arched into a small anticline. It ap¬ 
pears at the water’s edge at two points about 100 yards apart, and 
halfway between these two points it rises about three feet above the 
water. 


Clay Landing .-—This bluff is on the Florida side of the river and 
about one and one-half miles northeast of Toledo, Ga. 


Section at Clay Landing. 


Pleistocene (?). 

5. Slope covered by gray sand; underlying strata prob¬ 
ably orange-colored, argillaceous sand. 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

4. Contact with the above not exposed. Greenish, fine¬ 
grained, sticky or plastic clay containing small, 

calcareous nodules,—exposed. 

3. White clay. 

2. Soft, friable, calcareous, sandy clay or marl; con¬ 
tains ostracods, poor casts and prints of mol- 

lusks, fish teeth and fish vertebrae. 

1. White, hard, argillaceous limestone, no fossils . . 


Feet 

15 to 20 


5 

2 


3 

1 


Two ostracods, Bythocypris sp. and Cytherella sp. have been identi¬ 
fied from bed No. 2. According to Dr. R. S. Bassler these species 
are either Recent or close to Recent species. 


Nettles Landing. —There is a high bluff at an old log slide one and 
one-half miles by land above Cow Ford. The strata are not very well 
exposed. 

i 

Section at Nettles Landing. 


Pleistocene? 

11. White, surficial, quartz sand at top of bluff . . . 
10. Not well exposed, slope covered with white sand; 
probably an orange-colored, argillaceous sand un¬ 
derlies the surface, line of small, well-rounded 


Feet 
3 or 4 














PLIOCENE 


397 


quartz pebbles at base from which springs 
emerge ... & 

Pliocene ? . 

Charlton formation? 

9. Poorly exposed, plastic, greenish, fine-grained clay 

8. Concealed. 

Charlton formation. 

7. Thin layer of hard, argillaceous limestone, probably 

but a few inches thick. 

6. Clay. 

5. Thin limestone layer with a few poor prints o ) 

fossils . ■ > 

4. Drab, laminated clay.’ ] \ 

3. Soft, sandy, argillaceous limestone, Modiolus Cv 

thereof, Rangia . L 

2. White, hard limestone—no fossils 
1. Earthy, compact limestone. 


Feet 
15 to 20 


3 

5 


4 

2 

5 


Stratum No. 11 is a part of the gray or white surficial sand cover¬ 
ing the upland plain. The river at this point impinges against the 
scarp of the Okefenokee plain or plateau, and the late Pleistocene or 
Satilla terrace deposits do not appear, which accounts for the differ¬ 
ence in the height of this bluff as compared with the bluffs at Sawpit 
Landing and Cow Ford. 

Stratum No. 10 is probably the equivalent of the upper parts of the 
bluffs at Calico Hill and near Folkston. 


Cow Ford .—The next exposure of the argillaceous marl or lime¬ 
stone of the Charlton formation appears in the right hank of the 
river about one-half mile below Cow Ford and nine miles south of 
Folkston. 


Section at Cow Ford. 


Feet 

Pleistocene or Recent. 

4. Dark or chocolate-colored sand, white at the sur¬ 
face . 5 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

3. Plastic, sandy clay.' 

2. Soft, yellow, argillaceous limestone; contains 

poorly preserved fossils— Modiolus, Pnacoides > . 4 

Carditamera sp. 

1. White, laminated, fine-grained clay.. 

The lowest Pleistocene terrace, which at this point is a palmetto 
“flatwoods,” is about three-fourths of a mile wide. It lies’ 10 to 15 
feet above low w T ater; at its inlier margin there is an abrupt rise of 
about 30 or 40 feet from this lower plain to the upland plain. 



















398 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Sawpit Landing. —Calcareous clay and chalky limestone are ex¬ 
posed at this locality, two miles by the river above the ferry at 
Traders Hill. 

Section at Sawpit Landing. 


Feet 


Pleistocene. 

Satilla formation. 

8. Stiff, greenish clay. 

(Unconformity) 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

7. White, calcareous clay.. . . 

6. Calcareous sand and sandy limestone. 

5. Soft, white, calcareous clay, fossiliferous; con¬ 
tains Lecla, probably acuta, Pecten gibbus, 
Anomia simplex, Phacoides or Diplodonta, Tel- 

lina sp. 

4. White or yellow limestone. 

3. Greenish clay. 

2. Drab, calcareous clay. 

1. Soft, gray or white, chalky limestone or marl at 
low tide. 


3 


1 

0 


1 

1 

1 

2 

2 


In. 


6 


Bed ]STo. 8 is considered Pleistocene in age; the clay forms a flat 
terrace about one mile wide bordering the river. 

FolJcston, —A good exposure occurs three miles southeast of Folk- 
ston on the Florida side of the river at the end of the new bridge of 
the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The section in detail is as follows: 


Section of bluff on St. Marys River, at end of railroad bridge, three 


miles southeast of FolJcston. 

Feet In. 

Pleistocene ? 

24. At top—gray, fine, incoherent, quartz sand .... 2 

(Unconformity) 

23. Mottled clay and sand. 4 6 

22. Stiff, plastic clay. 3 6 

21. Orange-yellow, clayey sand. 5 6 

20. Yellow sand. 4 

19. Drab, sandy clay. 4 

18. Yellow sand. 2 6 

17. Greenish, stiff, sandy clay with line of quartz peb¬ 
bles at base. 4 6 

(Unconformity) 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

16. Greenish, laminated clay. 1 

15. White limestone layer.' . . . . 0 4 

14. Drab, calcareous clay. 0 8 

13. Limestone. 0 3 

12. Drab clay. 0 6 

11. Greenish, laminated clay. 1 6 

10. Gray, fossiliferous, sandy clay or phosphatic marl; 

Pecten gibbus . 1 
























PLIOCENE 


399 


9. 

8 . 

7. 

6 . 

5. 

4. 

3. 

2 . 

1. 


Thin layer of compact, argillaceous limestone . . 
tureen or drab, highly fossiliferous clay, ostracods 
and clay casts of fossils .... 

Limestone . 

Green, fossiliferous clay, Pecten . 

Limestone ...... 

Clay . 

White limestone. 

Laminated, fossiliferous clay 

White, argillaceous limestone !!.!!!!! 


Feet. 

1 

2 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 


In. 


6 

3 

6 

4 
6 
6 
6 


The beds from 17 to 23 inclusive lie horizontally, and are probably 
of Pleistocene age; from 1 to 16 the strata belong to the Charlton 
formation. These beds have been disturbed from their original 
positions and dip northward 30 to 45 degrees. Bed No. 24, the 
surficial sand which covers the flat, upland plain reaches a thick¬ 
ness of eight feet or more, and is sharply defined from the underlying, 
red, argillaceous sand, being quite different in lithologic appearance; 
it is, therefore, considered a later deposition. About 50 yards east 
of the bridge there is a friable, coquina-like layer, possibly the equiv¬ 
alent of No. 10 of the above section. Of the fossils collected from 
the Charlton formation at this locality Dr. Vaughan has identified 
the following: 


Fossils from the Charlton formation three miles southeast of Folkston. 

Pecten gibbus Linnaeus Rangia cuneata (Gray) 

Anomia simplex d’Orbigny 


Limestone or marl is reported at the base of the bluff at Calico 
Hill, two miles below the bridge; when visited this was not exposed. 
The bluff or hill is about 40 feet high and the strata exposed are the 
equivalents’ of the upper 30 feet of the section at the railroad bridge, 
with the possible exception of the bluish, fine-grained, plastic clay 
seen near the base of the hill. 

Between the preceding exposure and Chalk Bluff, a section of 
which is given below, only late Pleistocene sand and clay appear in 
the river banks. 


Chalk Bluff. —This locality is about one-half mile above Orange 
Bluff, described below, and exhibits a similar succession of strata. 

Section at Chalk Bluff. 


Feet 


Pleistocene. 

Satilla formation. 

5. Bluish or greenish, fine-grained, plastic, sandy clay 2 


In 










400 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. Feet In. 

4. Stiff, white, chalky or calcareous clay, thin layers 

of limestone... 2 ® 

3. Greenish or drab, fullers earth-like clay. 1 

2. White, chalky clay. 2 

1. Sticky, greenish, calcareous clay. 1 

Stratum No. 5 underlies a flatwoods terrace, as at Orange Bluff. 
Poorly preserved fossils occur in the lower part of the bluff. A 
Pecten and probably a Modiolus were identified. 

Orange Bluff. —This bluff is on the Florida side of St. Marys 
Fiver, about two miles above Kings Ferry, Fla. It is a low bluff, 
about 10 feet high at low tide. The fossiliferous limestone of the 
Charlton formation is not exposed on the river below this point: 

Section at Orange Bluff. 

Feet In 

Pleistocene 

Satilla formation. 

2. Stiff, greenish, sandy clay, weathered brownish; 

contains Ostrea virginioa; thin line of smooth, 
perfectly rounded quartz pebbles, reaching one 

’ inch in diameter, at base.. 5 

(Unconformity) 

Pliocene ? 

Charlton formation. 

1. Soft, white or drab, argillaceous limestone or marl, 
becoming more argillaceous at the top. The rock 
is variable in hardness and the river has washed 
out small holes at the base of the bluff. Fossils 
collected. Thickness at low tide. 4 6 

Stratum No. 2 forms' the clay flatwoods terrace which borders the 
river. The fossils in stratum No. 1 are poorly preserved, but are 
most abundant at the base of the bluff and can be collected best at low 
tide. From the collections made at this locality Dr. Vaughan has 
identified the following: 

Fossils from Orange Bluff. 

Leda acuta Conrad » Phacoides multilineatus (T. and H.) 

Pecten gibbus Linnaeus Chione cancellata (Linnaeus) 

Fragum Mulinia lateralis (Say) 

Laevicardium 

ALT AMAH A (LAFAYETTE) FORMATION 

NAME 

The first description of beds which probably included parts of this 
formation was given by Dr. R. H. Loughridge in 1884, in the Tenth 
Census, although the name “Altamaha” was not used, and the for- 

1 Tenth Census, vol. 2, 2, p. 15. 








PLIOCENE 


401 


mation was described as “Miocene or Grand Gulf” sandstone. The 
name Altamaha grit” was applied by Dr. W. H. Dali' in 1892, 
irom typical exposures along Altamaha River. Using the name 
Altamaha grit,” Dr. R. M. Harper * 2 3 studied the formation mainly 
rom a p ytogeographical standpoint and gave some details regard¬ 
ing its distribution, lithologic character, and age. He referred it 
to the Pliocene, and stated “there is every reason to believe that the 
Altamaha grit’ is the equivalent of the Grand Gulf formation of the 
States farther west.” Prof. S. W. McCallie 8 has also given a brief 
description of the deposits. In 1908 Veatch 4 described the deposits, 
traced their boundaries, and applied to them the name "Altamaha” 
formation, employing the word formation rather than grit, since so 
many lithologic phases were discovered to which the term “grit” was 
not applicable. 

As explained on later pages, there is some reason for believing 
that the deposits here included in the Altamaha formation constitute 
a complex embracing strata representing every period from the 
Oligocene to the Pleistocene. 


DEFINITION 

Stratigraphic Relations .—The Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation 
has been observed overlying Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene (?) 
strata, and may be considered in a certain sense a surficial formation. 
In Burke and Washington counties in the northeastern part of the 
Coastal Plain the formation overlaps the Claiborne, some phases of 
which it resembles texturally; the Claiborne sands, however, bear 
fossils, upon the evidence of which they may be distinguished from 
the Altamaha beds. The relations between the two formations may 
be observed at Waynesboro and Tennille in railroad and road cuts. 
It overlies the Vicksburg in the counties of Laurens, Pulaski, and 
Dooly, and is perhaps in contact with the Vicksburg and Chatta¬ 
hoochee in places along the west side of Flint River, as far south 
as’ Decatur County. Hear the base of the formation there are, in 
places, mechanically included flint fragments derived from the 
underlying older formations. The formation probably directly over- 
lies the Chattahoochee and Vicksburg formations in Screven and 
Burke counties, although actual contacts have not been discovered. 
Throughout the greater part of the area of its occurrence the forma¬ 
tion overlies the Alum Bluff formation from which it can not in 


mull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 84, p. 84. 

2 Annals New York Acad. Sci., vol. 17. pt. 1, Sept.. 1906. 

3 Bull. Geol. Survey of Georgia No. 15, 1908, p. 31. 

‘Science, n. s., vol. 27, Jan., 1908. pp. 71-74. 



402 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


all 6ases be easily discriminated. The two formations are similar 
lithologically near the contacts at many places, and the Alum Bluff 
formation does not always hear fossils; it is, therefore, not improb¬ 
able that beds properly belonging in the Alum Bluff formation 
have been included in the Altamaha division. Probably a large part 
of the Altamaha materials were derived from the Alum Bluff beds, 
rendering the former lithologically similar to the latter. Weather¬ 
ing of both formations has also made a sharp distinction difficult, in 
many localities. Unconformities with the Alum Bluff formation 
were noted at Climax, Forest Falls, Cairo, a ad in some of the bluffs 
on Altamaha Biver above Doctortown. The relations, of the forma¬ 
tion to the Al um Bluff formation at particular localities will be dis¬ 
cussed in subsequent pages. Beds tentatively regarded as referable 
to this formation overlie, unconformably, fossiliferous Miocene 
strata at Doctortown and at Bugs Bluff on Altamaha River and at 
Porters Landing and other localities on Savannah River. 

The relation of the formation to the probable Pliocene bed ex¬ 
posed on the King plantation, six miles south of Atkinson on Satilla 
River, cannot be determined with certainty, but the latter is believed 
to be contemporaneous with at least a part of the beds here included 
in the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation. In the dredgings at 
Brunswick, Miocene, Pliocene, and Recent shells were obtained, 
but there are no natural exposures of the beds and the relations of the 
Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation to possible Pliocene must remain 
in doubt. 

It has not been possible in all cases satisfactorily to determine the 
relation of the terrane to deposits of Pleistocene age.. In fact, 
there is some grounds for the belief that the strata here included in 
the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation may be a complex, embracing 
on the one hand not only beds of Pliocene age but also beds of Mio¬ 
cene and Oligocene age, and on the other hand beds of Pleistocene 
age, the latter being reworked products of the Altamaha materials, 
and therefore resembling them. However, the evidence at present 
available is not sufficient to justify an attempt to subdivide the for¬ 
mation. 

Overlying the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation there is nearly 
everywhere a thin mantle of loose, gray, or brownish sand, mainly 
of residual origin, but probably in part of Pleistocene age. The sand 
rarely shows stratification lines, contains but very little clay, and 
can be easily differentiated from the Altamaha materials. These 
surficial sands in places reach a thickness of 20 or 30 feet, but the 
average is not more than two or three feet. 


PLIOCENE 


403 


Lithologic Characters.— The Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation 
is an extensive deposit of irregularly bedded sands, clays, and gravels, 
oca y in mated. On tie whole the deposits are homogeneous, but 
locally become a heterogeneous mixture of the above mentioned com¬ 
ponents. lie indurated sands and the conglomerates contain a pecu¬ 
liar greenish or greenish-gray, disseminated clay, and are described as 
gray or greenish aluminous grits;” the pebbles are predominantly 
subangular, often lath-shaped, and the sand is universally harsh or in 
sharp angular grains; there is a great abundance of feldspar, both 
m pebbles and semi-decomposed, disseminated grains, and phases 
of the formation may be appropriately described as “feldspathic 
grit ; a negative peculiarity is the total absence of calcareous phases, 
ihe weathered surface loams are mottled and splotched in red, yel¬ 
low, purple, and gray tints, the surface aspects differing in this 
respect from those of any other Coastal Plain formation. These 
striking effects, are probably due to unequal weathering, oxidation, 
and unequal, distribution of iron materials. These loams are not a 
later deposition but are due to the weathering of the Altamaha ma¬ 
terials, although in many places they appear to overlie unaltered 
beds unconformably. The formation is very coarse-grained, even 
at points 100 miles from its northern margin. It contains sands, 
gravels, conglomerates, and clays, all of which are locally indurated; 
the sandstones, conglomerates, and claystones do not differ essentially 
in composition from the non-indurated materials. These different 
phases do not constitute stratigraphic units but are local depositional 
phases produced by shifting currents. 

The.grit and sandstone phases of the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) 
formation, the peculiar nature of which attracted the special attention 
of those who first studied the terrane, are typically exposed along 
Altamaha River. They appear as gray or greenish, aluminous sand¬ 
stones, more or less mottled and stained by iron oxide. At some 
localities pebbles' are ' embedded in the sand and clay matrix, the 
whole cemented into a conglomerate; but, except for the pebbles, these 
beds do not appear different from the typical sandstone of the Altaha- 
ma formation. The percentage of clay in the indurated rock varies' 
from five to ten per cent, to a percentage sufficiently high to render the 
rock an indurated clay rather than a sandstone. The sandstones are 
generally soft and friable, the cementing material being an opaline sil¬ 
ica, but locally they become extremely hard. In places the sandstones 
are arkosic,—that is, composed of quartz, feldpar, mica, and other 
minerals of igneous rocks,—in which cases the interstices are filled 
with clay and the Avhole cemented with silica, producing rocks not un- 


404 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


like some of the indurated phases of the Lower Cretaceous strata near 
the Fall Line. These lithologic peculiarities have been observed at 
widely separated localities, the sandstones being in all cases easily 
identified, although entirely devoid of fossils. Except along Alta- 
maha Fiver, surface outcrops are not abundant. In the interstream 
areas there are occasional small tracts a few acres in extent, in which 
jutting beds of sandstone, 15 or 20 feet thick, form barren, rocky 
flats. Exposures of grit or hard rock are most common in the north¬ 
ern part of the Altamaha region but are not observed near the coast 
or near the Florida boundary line. It is believed that these isolated 
exposures are local indurations only and do not form continuous 
sandstone beds. 

The clays of the Altamaha formation are fairly uniform in texture 
and composition throughout the area of their occurrence. They are 
greenish or drab, very fine-grained and plastic, and always more or 
less sandy. They have a low specific gravity absorb a high percent¬ 
age of water, and occur in thick, irregular pockets or thin, lenticular 
layers, never persisting as individual beds over any large area. In 
places they grade into or are abruptly replaced by sands and sand¬ 
stones. Greenish clay, full of coarse, angular, quartz particles and 
subangular, decomposed, feldspar pebbles, is of frequent occurrence 
in the formation. The clays are locally indurated, the c'ementing 
material being opaline silica. 

The sands of the formation consist chiefly of coarse, quartz sand 
and are red and yellow, or orange, in color, with an occasional brown¬ 
ish tint. They are more or less argillaceous and in places contain 
layers of quartz and feldspar pebbles. The feldspar pebbles con¬ 
stitute a large percentage of the gravel layers. A characteristic of 
the pebbles is their angularity, some being lath-shaped, showing 
scarcely any rounding of the angles. The pebbly feature is nowhere 
very prominent and is exceptional rather than general. In a few 
localities the pebbles are rather large, attaining a diameter of four 
or five inches. Fear the Atlantic coast and in the southwestern part 
of the State the sands are, in places, fine-grained, rarely micaceous, 
crossbedded, and interstratified with thin layers and leaves of plas¬ 
tic clays. In places these clay layers do not exceed one inch in 
thickness. Such a structure is seen in the exposures of the forma¬ 
tion near Jesup, at Waynesville in Wayne County, and near Whig- 
ham in Grady County. 

In the northern part of the region the sands are always coarse. 
They are never pure and contain large amounts of disseminated clay. 
It is only near the Atlantic coast and near the Florida State line that 


PLIOCENE 


405 


they are fine-grained, and even here there are some coarse-grained 
materials. 

"While in the foregoing the sands, clays, and sandstones are de¬ 
scribed separately they do not form stratigraphic units. .Irregu¬ 
larly-bedded sands, clays, and sandstones may be seen in the same 
vertical section, the clays frequently being replaced by sands and 
vice versa. In places the sands and gritty clays may be seen to grade 
horizontally from non-indurated to indurated rocks, or from soft 
sands and clays into grits typical of the Altamaha formation. 

Beds of gravel and conglomerate occur but form only a small pro¬ 
portion of the whole. They are interbedded with the clays, sands, 
and sandstones, and grade into them. Throughout the sands there 
are pebbles scattered promiscuously, or they may be arranged in 
lines a few inches thick. The conglomerates differ from the sand¬ 
stones or grits only in the size of the rock particles. The beds of 
gravel and, conglomerate are not persistent over large areas and are 
rarely more than eight or ten feet thick. 

The pebbles making up the conglomerate are mainly quartz, 
quartzite, and feldspar. The quartz pebbles may be as much as 
three inches in diameter, and fragments of feldspar one and one-half 
inches in diameter have been observed. A feature of most of the 
gravels is the angularity or subangualrity of the pebbles. 

The cementing materials of the conglomerates are clay and iron 
oxide. The material cementing the clays is probably opaline 
silica. 

Brown iron oxide “pebbles” or nodules are in many places so 
abundant as to warrant special mention. Throughout the “wire- 
grass” region they occur in such quantity that the lands are termed 
“pebble” or “pimple” land in contrast to the lands covered by gray 
sand, and the “pebble” or “pimple” land is generally recognized as 
being superior in fertility. These nodules are a surface phenomenon 
produced by weathering; the iron oxide of the argillaceous sands is 
segregated into irregular, small bodies which are subsequently worn 
smooth. The “pebbles” vary in size from buckshot to eight or ten 
inches in diameter, but the buckshot size is most common. The 
mineral composing them is limonite or some closely allied iron min¬ 
eral with clay and sand impurities. They are round or tubercular in 
shape, and have a slick or water-worn appearance, yet there is not 
much evidence of their having been transported by water and their 
smoothness may be due to attrition by raindrops. These pebbles 
were noted as being especially abundant at Stillmore, Fitzgerald, 
Douglas, Glenville, Pelham and Doerun. 


406 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Thickness .—The formation is variable in thickness; it is spread 
over an immense area and is, in a certain sense, a surficial deposit, 
being attenuated both to the northward and to the southward, and 
probably presenting the greatest thickness near the middle of the 
area in Georgia. The thickness, 350 feet or more, given by Veatch 1 
in a previous paper is exaggerated for the recent investiga¬ 
tions have demonstrated that underlying Oligocene clays, sands, and 
sandstones, penetrated in well borings to the depth indicated, were 
erroneously referred to the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation. The 
maximum thickness can nowhere be observed in natural exposures 
and estimates must necessarily be made in part from well records. 
Observed and estimated thicknesses throughout the terrane are: 
Decatur County, not exceeding 50 to 75 feet; near Pelham, probably 
not greater than 100 feet; in southern parts of Grady, Thomas, 
Brooks, and Lowndes counties, absent, or not exceeding 40 or 50 
feet; Waycross, 50 feet; Doctortown, 40 feet; Tilman Ferry Bluff, 
Altamaha River, 65 feet. Throughout the northern border, in 
Dooly, Pulaski, Dodge, Laurens, Johnson, Washington, Emanuel, 
Jenkins, and Burke counties, the thickness varies from six to eight 
feet to a thickness of probably 50 or 75 feet. 

The maximum thickness certainly will not exceed 150 feet and the 
greatest thickness will be found in Laurens, Montgomery, Toombs, 
Coffee, Irwin, and Tift counties. It should he borne in mind that 
we are not always able to differentiate definitely the Alum Bluff and 
Altamaha formations and the figures given above, are likely to 
be too great rather than too small, on acount of possible inclusion 
of Alum Bluff beds. 

Paleontology and age .—Except for a few pieces of wood and 
fragments of oyster shells, the latter found in a gravel bed at Collins, 
and probably a mechanical mixture in the gravel, the typical Alta¬ 
maha (Lafayette?) formation is devoid of fossils. There are, there¬ 
fore, no paleontologic criteria for determining the age and strati¬ 
graphic position of the formation. Shells of probable Pliocene age 
occur in a deposit on Satilla River, six miles south of Atkinson, but 
the relation of the typical Altamaha formation to this deposit has not 
been conclusively determined. It' is probable, however, that the 
Satilla River bed is contemporaneous with at least a part of the 
Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. Loughridge 2 3 described the Alta¬ 
maha beds in part and referred them to the Miocene; DalT in 1892 
also referred the formation to the Miocene, but after the recogni- 

1 Science. n. s., vol. 27, January, 1908, pp. 71-74. 

2 Tenth Census, vol. 6, pt. 2, p. 16. 

3 Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 84, p. 81. 



PLIOCENE 


407 


tion of the Oligocene in the Coastal Plain, referred it to the uppor 
Oligocene. 1 A part of the beds described by Dali are undoubtedly 
of upper Oligocene age. 

The formation is younger than the Alum Bluff formation (Oligo¬ 
cene) which it overlies in bluffs of Altamaha, Oconee, Ocmulgee, and 
other rivers. In places on Altamaha and Savannah rivers deposits 
here provisionally referred to the Altamaha (Lafayette?) forma¬ 
tion overlie unconformably Beds correlated with the Duplin 
Miocene of North Carolina; of course,- such beds are younger than 
Miocene strata upon which they rest. The formation is overlain 
in part by surficial gray sands of Pleistocene age. There seems, 
therefore, to be more grounds for referring it to the Pliocene or 
early Pleistocene than to any other series. The possibility of 
some of the beds here included in the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) forma¬ 
tion being older, and some younger, has been discussed on a preced¬ 
ing page. It is probable that at least a part of the beds are the time 
equivalent of the so-called Lafayette formation. 

Areal distribution .—The Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation is 
the most widespread terrane in the Coastal Plain, covering in part 
an area of approximately 21,000 square miles, or three-fifths of the 
Coastal Plain area of the State. Its northern boundary is approxi¬ 
mately marked by Waynesboro, Midville, Tennille, Dublin, Cochran, 
and Unadilla, and its western boundary is Flint Biver; thence a 
large part of the entire area south and east to Florida and the Atlan¬ 
tic Ocean is underlain by this formation. The most typical beds 
occur along Altamaha River and the formation underlies practi¬ 
cally all the area known as the “wire-grass region.” In the southern 
parts of Brooks, Thomas, and Grady counties, it is thin and partly 
removed by erosion. Near the coast deposits which may be rem¬ 
nants of the formation appear on the first marine terrace, (Satilla 
Plain), near Kingsland, Woodbine, and Pearl in Camden County and 
at a number of places near Savannah, Chatham County. 

Physiographic expression .—The formation where it forms the 
surface* produces a peculiar topography and a part of the area of its 
occurrence constitutes one of the major topographic divisions of the 
Georgia Coastal Plain, described in the first page of this report as the 
“Altamaha upland.” This area is one of low hills with gentle slopes 
and softened outlines; of shallow, saucer-shaped valleys, often not 
more than 40 or 50 feet deep; of sluggish, clear-water streams, 


Eighteenth Ann. Pept., U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, p. 340. 



408 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


bordered by swamps and sand hammocks; of “bays” and cypress 
ponds. 

Altamaha and Oconee rivers have cut deep valleys into the 
formation and precipitous bluffs are found along their courses and 
form an exception to the general type. The topography is in con¬ 
trast to the broken, hilly areas of the Cretaceous and Eocene near 
the Fall Line; to the limesink topography to the west and south¬ 
west; and to the flat, sand-coated plains to the southeast. 

Structure .—Inasmuch as the formation is not regularly bedded 
and there are no persistent layers, folding, faulting, etc., could 
hardly be detected even if they existed. Some inclination of beds 
from the horizontal was noted near Minter, Laurens County, but 
this was probably due to irregular deposition. A pecularity of the 
formation is the numerous local unconformities and abrupt hori¬ 
zontal changes in the character of the materials. The highest ele¬ 
vations are about 470 feet near Tennille and 450 feet at Ashburn, 
thence there is a gradual slope to the Atlantic coast, where the 
formation appears only a few feet above sea level. 

Conditions of deposition .—The character of the deposits indi¬ 
cates a shallow water deposition, and affords evidences of condi¬ 
tions which find no parallel in the earlier Tertiary systems. The 
heterogeneous character of the deposits, the angularity and arkosic 
nature of much of the gravel, the rapidly shifting conditions of 
deposition, the numerous local unconformities and abrupt changes 
in the lithology, the absence of marine fossils and of any calcareous 
and glauconitic deposits, and other chemical and lithologic char¬ 
acteristics of marine sediments, precludes the classification of the 
Altamaha as a true marine deposit. The deposits are of terrestrial 
origin, produced as flood-plain and delta accumulations which, prob¬ 
ably merged into littoral deposits. 

At the beginning of the Pliocene there was an uplift of the Pied¬ 
mont Plateau, a southward tilting, and consequent rejuvenation of 
the drainage. Great accumulations of detritus were dumped on a 
plain facing the sea, and coalescing deltas of coarse sediments rap¬ 
idly accumulated and encroached upon the sea. The arkosic char¬ 
acter of the sediments and general angularity of the pebbles indi¬ 
cate that this was a period of either great aridity or of extreme 
cold, in which disintegration predominated over decomposition. 
Much of the Altamaha has a true fluviatile or flood-plain aspect, 
while in some localities the presence of interstratified, fine-grained 
clay and sand suggests the presence of fresh-water lakes within the 
deltas. It is probable that the coarse delta deposits first laid down 


PLIOCENE 


409 


weie reworked and carried farther southward by streams. The 
souice of the material was probably mainly from the Piedmont re¬ 
gion, but there is evidence that the older Coastal Plain formations 
furnished a share of the detritus. 

LOCAL DETAILS 

The details concerning lithologic character, stratigraphic rela¬ 
tions, etc., from which the general conclusions preceding were drawn, 
are given in the following sections and descriptions: 

ALTAMAHA RIVER 


The characteristic, lithologic features of the formation, its relation 
to the underlying Alum Bluff formation, and questionably, its rela¬ 
tion to the Miocene, are exhibited in the bluff exposures on Altamaha 
Piver. 

The sections exposed at Grays Landing/ 11 miles below the 
Forks are: 

Section at L pper Bluff, Grays Landing. 


Pleistocene ? Feet 

7. At top, thin veneer of gray sand and gravel. , 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Characteristically mottled, argillaceous sand ... 8 to 15 

5. Massive bed of gray, feldspathic sandstone or grit 15 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

4. Gray argillaceous sand. 6 

3. Interstratified sand and clay; clay layers a few 
inches thick; the sand has the appearance of the 
Alum Bluff sand in the southwestern part of the 

State. 10 

2. White, minutely jointly, fullers earth, contains 

round, siliceous concretions. 2 to 12 

1. Semi-indurated, greenish argillaceous sand .... 2 


Section at Lower Bluff, Grays Landing. 

Pleistocene ? 

9. Gray sand and gravel at the top, forms a thin 


veneer over the surface. 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

8. Mottled, argillaceous sand. 8 

7. Sandstone and gray sand. 20 


(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

6. Fullers earth-like clay and sand. 

5. Greenish argillaceous sand. 

4. Greenish clay. 

3. Massive sand, containing thin clay layers 

2. White fullers earth. 

1. Greenish, rather conmact sand. 


i 














410 


GEOLOGY OF THE OOATAL PLAIN 


The massive Altamaha sandstone or pit also appears at Fall-in- 
Rock, 18-mile post, and at Piney Blttff r the 20-mile post. 


Section at Fall-in-h> Bluff. 


Feet 


3. At top, reddisn sand 


2. Massive bed of gray or greenish si one, forms 
a projecting ledge and a precipn . bluff . . . 


25 


1. Greenish and gray clay and sand, oo r than the 
above rock. . 


10 


It is probable that layer No. 2 belong ■ Altamaha formation; 
however, no unconformity appears betv and 2 and there are no 
fossils or other conclusive evidence of w- of the strata. 


Section at Lower End t y Bluff. 


Feet 


Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation 


3. Abrupt bluff of greenish or gray, m- sandstone 
or grit. . . . .1 


25 


Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 


2. Compact, gray sand 


3 (?) 


1. Sandy, fullers earth-like clay; n ■ but ap¬ 
pears similar to the Alum Bin ' posits of 
soutnwestern Georgia ... ... 


6 


At Tillmans Ferry, 36 miles belo\ rks, the entire bluff 

is made up of the Altamaha formalin; bluff is 65 feet high; 

the lower 35 feet is more or less ind’.* and is a coarse feld- 

spathic grit; the rock above is not wo od and the upper slope 
is covered with sand and grav.el an andstone projections 

appear. The sandstone is conglomera 1 aces and pebbles three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter wot oi< i. Nothing resembling 
typical Alum Bluff materials appear. 

Lower Sister Bluff, at the 49th mil* 1 . presents fine exposures. 
The lower, softer strata are carved into ad-lands” type of erosion 
and the bluff is the most picturesque o he river. 


Section at Lower Su er Bluff 


Pliocene ? 


Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation 

7. Beginning at the top, mottled gir .J 

G. Drab and greenish, friable alumious sandstone! 
5. Coarse grained, pebbly grit . . 


Feet. 

10 

8 

2 % 



Alum Bluff formation. 

4. Greenish, argillaceous sand, fine n texture than 
the above. 


8 











PLIOCENE 


411 


3. Drab, sandy clay. 

2. White sand, thin clay layers 
1* Greenish and drab, compact, aluminous sand, finer 
in texture than No. 2. Laminated clay at the 


Proo f that the strata in the upper and lower parts of the bluff are 
ol diiterent ages is not as patent as is desirable, for the beds exhibit 
no striking lithologic differences, and no fossils' were found. How¬ 
ever, at the upper bluffs, one mile above, there is better evidence of 
an unconformity. 

The upper portions of the sections at Fort James (58th mile- 
post), have the characteristic appearance of the Altamaha formation 
but here again there is some uncertainty about the age of the beds. 


Pliocene ? 


Section at Upper Fort James Bluff 


Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation 

6. At top, pebbly mottled, argillaceous sand 

5. Coarse, mottled grit. 

4. Greenish sandy clay. 

3. Sandstone .. .....!.* 

2. Semi-indurated aluminous grit. 


(Unconformity) 

Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

1. Greenish compact clay and sand mixture, perhaps 
finer in texture than the beds above. 


Feet 

30 

12 

2 % 

6 

4 


25 


Section of Lower Fort James Bluff. 


Pliocene ? p ee ^ 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation 

5. Beginning at the top, mottled sand not well ex¬ 
posed . 30 

4. Coarse, gray grit. 12 

3. Greenish or gray fine argillaceous sand, compact, 

massive. 7 

2. Sandstone or grit. 2 y 2 ' 

Oligocene 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Fine-grained, greenish, argillaceous sand. 20 


At Oglethorpe Bluff (69th mile-post), the indurated phase of the 
Altamaha does not appear, and the formation is represented by vari¬ 
colored sand and bv thin lenses of clay. 


Section at Oglethorpe Bluff. 


Pliocene ? Feet 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Beginning at the top, red and yellow sand; con¬ 
tains some clay and is mottled in the upper part 18 

5. Clay layer . 2 

4. Yellow and white crossbedded sand. 25 


















412 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Feet. 


3. Purplish clay lens. 5 

2. Coarse-grained, crossbedded, arkosic sand, feldspar 

and angular quartz gravel. 20 

(Unconformity) 

Oligocene 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Greenish, compact argillaceous sand, no fossils . 15(max.) 

Section at Linden Bluff73 Mile-post. 

Pliocene ? Feet. 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation 

6. Mottled argillaceous sand (top of section) ... 12 

5. White, coarse, to very coarse sand with some 

gravel at the base. 25 

(Unconformity) 

Miocene ? 

4. White and yellow sandy clay. 

3. Black silty clay. 5 

2. Quartz pebbles in a matrix of bluish sandy clay 5 

(Unconformity.) 

Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Greenish compact argillaceous sana. 18 


The beds which are marked questionably Miocene, occupy the 
same position in the section as the fossiliferous Miocene bed at the 
next bluff below,—Bugs Bluff. The lowest bed is referred to the 
Alum Bluff formation on the basis of the unconformity. Bugs 
Bluff is nearly a mile in length; the section given is at the lower 
end of the bluff, and is one mile by land from Doctortown. 

Section at lower end of Bugs Bluff. 

Feet 


Pleistocene 

7. Gray sand, capping bluff. 2 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation ? 

6. Mottled, argillaceous sand. 10 

5. Coarse, white crossbedded sand, becomes coarser 

and pebbly at the base. 28 

Miocene 

Duplin marl 

4. Faintly laminated, yellow and white sandy clay 5 y 2 

3. Bluish mud . 6^ 

2. Shell and pebble conglomerate, contains Pecten 

e'boreus, Mytilus conradinus . It4 

(Unconformity) 


Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Greenish, compact, argillaceous sand. 10 














PLIOCEXE 


413 


Section at Doctortou'n 


Pliocene ? 

Altamaha formation ? 

6. Yellow and mottled argillaceous sand, has the 
typical surface aspect of the Altamaha .... 
o. White and yelow crossbedded sand containing 

thin layers of small quartz pebbles. 

4. Red and yellow sand containing thin clay laminae 
Miocene. 

Duplin marl 

3. Calcareous fossiliferous sand or sandy friable 

marl. 

2. Bluish sand containing the Miocene fossils, Pecten 

etoreus , Mactra congesta . 

(Unconformity) 


Oligocene ? 

Alum Bluff formation ? 

1. Coarse, bluish or greenish compact clayey sand 
to water’s edge. 


Feet, 

10 

10 

10 

1 

4 


The Sansavilla bluffs, 27 and 28^2 miles, respectively, below Doc- 
tort own, are the last high bluffs on the river. Paleontologic evidence 
of the age of the beds is lacking; the succession of beds is similar to 
that at Doctortown and Bugs Bluff. 


Section at Upper Sansavilla Bluff 

Pleistocene 

Okefenokee formation Feet. 

3. Fine, brown and white quartz sand, covering a 
terrace plain . 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha formation ? 

2. Bluish-gray sand, interstatified with white, thinly 
laminated clay; the clay layers contain small 


bits of plant remains. 30 

Miocene or Oligocene ? 

1. Bluish, compact, argillaceous sand. 5(?) 


Section at Lower Sansavilla Bluff. • 

Pleistocene. 

Okefenokee formation. 

8. Fine brown and white, incoherent quartz sand . 10 

Pliocene ? 

Altamaha formation ? 

7. White clayey sand. 

6. White clay layer, fine-grained thinly laminatec 

clay . 

5. Sand .r • • • 

4. Thin clay layer. 

3. Argillaceous sand . 

2. Clay, fullers earth-like. 

Miocene or Oligocene ? ^ . 0 

1. Coarse, crossbedded compact, argillaceous sand . s 
















414 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


EAST AND NORTH OF ALTAMAHA RIVER 


On the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad, between Vidalia 
and Dublin, various lithologic phases appear in the cuts. The forma¬ 
tion near the surface is an orange yellow loam, beneath which is a 
mottled, argillaceous sand splotched with red, yellow, white, and pur¬ 
ple. Crossbedded sands and local beds of gravel appear, and at a num¬ 
ber of places are drab claystones and gray,, aluminous sandstones. The 
formation is uniformly overlain by a gray, incoherent sand, from two 
to six feet thick. 

A bed of coarse gravel consisting of pebbles and cobbles was noted 
in a railroad cut on the east side of Ohoopee River, two miles east 
of Adrian. 

Section in railroad cut two miles east of Adrian. 


Altamaha formation Feet 

4. Gray, incoherent sand. 5 

3. Yellow, argillaceous sand . 3 

2. Gravel bed, maximum thickness. 2.5 

1. Coarse, gritty clay and argillaceous sandstone, 

typical Altamaha. 12 


The gravel bed is not a persistent layer and soon thins out, prov¬ 
ing that it is merely a lens in the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 
The pebbles are mostly quartz, hut a few pebbles of decomposed feld¬ 
spar and vitreous flint, which has the appearnce of Vicksburg flint, 
occur; unlike most of the Altamaha gravel the pebbles are smooth, 
well rounded, and of large size, some three or four inches in their long¬ 
est diameter. The lower bed contains coarse fragments of crystalline 
quartz in which flakes of mica occasionally occur. This is evidence 
that the detritus was derived directly from the Piedmont Plain. 

Characteristic phases of the Altamaha formation occur at Still- 
more, Emanuel County. The surface is covered with small, brown, 
iron oxide concretions about the size of buckshot, and the weathered 
part of the formation presents a mottled or “calico” appearance. 
The best exposure appears in the deep cut of the Central of Georgia 
Railway within the town limits. 

Section at Stillmore. 


Altamaha formation? Feet 

7. Gray sand residual. 2 y 2 

6. Yellow loam, presenting a mottled or “calico” ap¬ 
pearance . 6 

5. Yellow and drab clay layer. 2 

4. Mottled purplish and gray argillaceous sand . . 3 

3. Greenish sand, containing a small amount of clay 3 y 2 

2. Drab, “stickey”, sandy clay. 3y 2 

1. Aluminous grit or sandstone. 2 











PLIOCENE 


415 


At Ohoopee station, Toombs County, there is a cut about 25 feet 
deep m which the sands and clay beds exhibit local unconformities. 

On the south side of Pendleton’s Creek, two miles south of 
Ohoopee, there is a rough, craggy bluff of Altamaha sandstone, 15 
leet high. The rock is made up principally of sharp quartz sand 
and a small amount of disseminated clay, and is similar to the sand¬ 
stone at other localities. No fossils occur. 

At the Jacl$ Williams cut, four miles west of Collins, typical clay 
and aluminous grit are exposed. 

In a cut of the Seaboard Air Line Railway three-quarters of a 
mile west of the station at Collins, Tattnall County, purplish sand 
and gravel layers are overlain by orange-colored, sandy loam. The 
locality is of interest since fragments of oyster shells, which could not 
be specifically identified, were found in a gravel layer 10 feet from 
the top of the cut. These shells may have been transported with the 
gravel. This is the only locality in this formation where fossil ani¬ 
mal remains have been found. The pebbles are small, not exceeding 
an inch in length or diameter, angular or subangular, and consist 
principally of quartz with a small percentage of decomposed feldspar. 

Grits and claystones, similar to those described above, outcrop on 
the farm of Dr. Donaldson, on Lott Creek, one mile northeast of 
Register. There is a rugged bluff 10 feet high; the rock is fine¬ 
grained, and the cementing substance is opaline silica; parts of the 
sandstone are quartzitic, "as at some other localties, although this is 
not a- characteristic phase. It can not always be certainly deter¬ 
mined whether such materials' belong to the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) 
formation or to the Alum Bluff formation. 

At Ludowici, Liberty County, coarse, mottled sands with thin lay¬ 
ers of clay appear in a cut at the factory of the Ludowici Roofing 
Tile Company. These sands and clays resemble the materials of the 
Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

Red sands resembling Altamaha materials were noted beneath the 
Pleistocene gray sands between Darien Junction and Ludowici, and 
also beneath the gray sands between Darien Junction and Darien. 

At Waynesboro and Greens Cut, Burke County, the formation ap¬ 
pears in railroad cuts. It consists of mottled, argillaceous sands and 
loams', easily distinguishable from the red sands of the Claiborne 
group which it overlies. 

A good exposure appears in a railroad cut three miles north of 
Munnerlyn, Burke County. 


416 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Section in railroad cut, three miles north of Munnerlyn. 


Altamaha formation Feet. 

3. Mottled sand, and drab, massive clay, oxidized red 10 

2. Coarse-grained sandstone or grit. 5 

1. Bluish-gray clay containing coarse grains of quartz 

and feldspar. 10 


The clay is slick and unctuous, has a high air shrinkage, and when 
dry crumbles into, very hard lumps. Similar clay occurs near 
Screven approximately 100 miles to the southward. 

On the L. L. Brasselle place, six miles' south of Midville, bluish or 
drab claystone, and sandstones or grits, appear in a rather pictureque 
bluff about 12 feet high. At a lower level a white quartzitic sand 
bears poorly preserved fossils, and oyster shells embedded in a white, 
calcareous sand have been thrown from a nearby well. The fos¬ 
sil-bearing beds undoubtedly belong to the Alum Bluff formation. 
The claystones or grits observed at this locality probably belongs to 
the Altamaha formation. They contain no fossils. There are no 
exposures showing the two phases in contact. 

Sandstones and gritty claystones appear at Parramore Hill. 

Section in railroad cut north of Parramore Hill Station 


Altamaha formation Feet. 

4. Weathered red and yellow, sandy clay. 4 

3. Gray, coarse-grained sandstone. 2 

2. Drab or chocolate-colored, semi-indurated clay . . 3 

1. Very hard, massive, drab clay. 7 


The sandstone is a local induration and not a persistent layer. 
Coarse, quartz grains are embedded in the fine-grained ground-mass 
of the clay. There is no evidence of any overlying formation except 
a thin veneer of sand. 

Mottled, argillaceous - sands, tentatively referred to the Altamaha 
(Lafayette ?) formation, overlie Miocene strata at Porters Landing, 
Trowel Landing, and at Sisters Ferry on Savannah Biver, and sim¬ 
ilar materials appear in cuts of the Seaboard Air Line Railway three 
miles north of Clyo in Effingham County. At Ebenezer Church, 30 
miles above Savannah in Effingham County, a small thickness of 
red sand with thin, laminated clay layers overlie Miocene beds at an 
elevation of about 40 feet above the river; these are probably of the 
same age as the other Savannah River occurrences just noted. These 
deposits may all prove to be Pleistocene terrace deposits. 

North of Savannah, along the Seaboard Air Line Railway, red 
sands appear at a few places beneath the gray surface sand, and aie 
similar in lithololgic appearance to the red, argillaceous sands of 
Effingham County. 







GEOLOGY OF THti COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 


PLATE XXVIII. 



A. 


CUT OF ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD WEST OF CLIMAX. DECATUR 
COUNTY, SHOWING STRATA OF THE ALTAMAHA FORMATION. 



B CH \R ACTE RI STIC MOTTLING IN WEATHERED PHASE OF THE ALTAMAHA 
FORMATION, CUT OF ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD, WEST 
OF CAIRO, GRADY COUNTY. 































. 






















































* 









































PLIOCENE 


417 


In the vicinity of Savannah red sands containing thin clay laminae 
^ f^ ^ e( ^ s a PP ear at a number of localities and may represent 
the Altamaha formation. The difficulty of correlating these depos¬ 
its with the Altamaha, however, is at once ^parent, since they are 
uniossiliferous and only widely separated exposures occur. They 
are older than the gray sands which veneer the first marine terrace, 
and older than the Pleistocene muds which also occur in basins on 
this' terrace. The red sands ,themselves, however, may he of Pleis¬ 
tocene age. Exposures of these materials vere noted in cuts of the 
Montgomery branch of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, three, four, 
and nine miles west of Savannah, and in cuts of the Jacksonville 
branch of the same system one-third of a mile south of Florida Junc¬ 
tion, all in Chatham County. 

Along the Seaboard Air Line Railway, between Savannah and Al¬ 
tamaha River, red sands and mottled, sandy clays, probably corre¬ 
sponding to the deposits noted in the vicinity of Savannah, occur at 
Burroughs, Limerick, and Arcadia. 

WEST OF ALTAMAHA AND OCONEE RIVER 

^ Kramer, five miles west of Abbeville, Wilcox County, the for¬ 
mation has an arkosic character. Feldspar pebbles an inch in length 
were noted in a conglomerate which appears in the railroad cut, one- 
half mile west of the station. The rock is composed of quartz, feld¬ 
spar, mica in minute flakes, and small grains of a black mineral, prob¬ 
ably ilmenite; these minerals are in a matrix of white clay, and silica 
is the cementing agent. The quartz varies from small grains to angu¬ 
lar pebbles an inch in length. Some of the feldspar is but little de¬ 
composed. Such large fragments of feldspar this distance from the 
Fall Line are of unusual interest and are not found in any of the 
older Coastal Plain formations. 

At Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, the Altamaha (Lafayette?) for¬ 
mation appears at the surface as an argillaceous, massive sand, mot¬ 
tled red and white, covered by gray, incoherent sand. Brown, iron 
oxide “pebbles” are abundant and vary from the size of buckshot to 
three or four inches in diameter. They are evidently derived from 
the Altamaha formation by weathering but have subsequently been 
worked into the gray surface sands which overlies the Altamaha. 
Loose beds of these pebbles were noted in the gray sands along the 
Atlanta, Birmingham, and Atlantic Railroad track west of Fitz- 
gerad, near the railroad shops. 

Outcrops of indurated Altamaha sandstone and claystone occur 
a short distance north of Fitzgerald on the Bowens Mill road. 

In a cut of the Southern Railway, one mile north of Helena, Tel- 


418 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


fair County, the lens structure of the clay beds and the character¬ 
istic, coarse, gritty texture of the formation are exhibited. 

Large, brown, iron oxide accretions, 8 or 10 inches in diameter, 
irregularly rounded, occur at the surface in the vicinity of Broxton 
and Douglas, Coffee County. 

At “the Bocks’’ nine miles northeast of Broxton, there is 20 feet 
of fine-grained, aluminous sandstone and claystone exposed in a 
narrow, rugged ravine^ The rock hears no fossils, and its strati¬ 
graphic position is determined entirely by its lithologic resemblance 
to indurated phases of the Altamaha at other localities. 

An excellent exposure of feldspathic grit or sandstone occurs at 
the 339th milepost on the Southern Bailway, two miles northeast 
of Hazelhurst, Jeff Davis County. There is 10 feet of rock exposed; 
a short distance south of the rock exposure, the rock retains its tex¬ 
ture and composition, but is not indurated, suggesting that the sand¬ 
stones of the Altamaha are local' indurations only and not continuous 
beds. 

The Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation appears in the railroad 
cuts at Jesup, Wayne County, but is largely obscured in this part of 
the State by a thin covering of gray sand. In a cut of the Southern 
Bailway, three miles southeast of Jesup, the exposure has the litho¬ 
logic appearance of the Altamaha, but may be an Okefenokee Pleis¬ 
tocene deposit. The formation here contains coarse gravel and 
large chunks of silicified wood. In the clay pits of the brick-yard 
at Odessa the formation consists of alternating layers of fine-grained, 
plastic clay and ferruginous quartz sand. Neither the clay nor sand 
layers are persistent, and the two intergrade and replace each other. 
Some of the sand is very coarse, being made up of angular quartz 
fragments as large as peas. 

Characteristic, lithologic features and structure again appear in 
the cuts two to two and one-half miles south of Screven, Wayne Coun¬ 
ty. Coarse, gritty clay similar in appearance to that at Munnerlyn, 
Stillmore, Helena, and other localities north and west is exposed. No 
exposures of the underlying older Tertiary formations appear. 

Characteristic Altamaha clays and sands appear in a cut one mile 
northeast of Blackshear, Pierce County, the weathered surface phase 
of which is a mottled, argillaceous loam; there are local unconformi¬ 
ties between sand and clay beds, and the sand is coarse in texture and 
angular. The sands and clays are similar in composition to the sand¬ 
stones and claystones of the formation to the north and west, differ¬ 
ing only in being unconsolidated. 

Characteristic Altamaha materials appear in the numerous rail¬ 
road and road cuts in the vicinity of Waycross, Ware County. The 


PLIOCENE 


419 


most instructive exposure is in a cut of the Atlantic Coast Line 
Kailroad two miles north of Waycross. Here are revealed peculari- 
les de P° sltl °n, local unconformities, and the relation of the 
m0 , c > argillaceous sands to the less altered parts of the formation, 
and to the gray sands which cover the plain. 

. Somewhat similar sands and clays appear in Eed Bluff on the 
right bank of Satilla Elver, four miles east of Eaybon, Wayne 
County, and about eight miles above the King Plantation bluff. Ho 
iossils were found. 

Section at Red Bluff 

A1 , 4 : A Jv to P> li % ht yellow, incoherent sand (Pleistocene) 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) 

3. Mottled sand containing a small amount of dis¬ 
seminated clay. 

2. White, red, and yellow, fine sand ........ 

1. Gray, very sandy clay. !!!!.! 

The only means of establishing the correspondence in age of these 
beds with the typical Altamaha farther west, is by tracing the beds; 
this is hindered by the gray sand covering and the lack of contin¬ 
uous exposures. 

Sands and clays similar to those exposed in a cut three miles south¬ 
east of Jesup occur at the brickyard at Waynesville, Wayne County. 

A locality of much interest in connection with the discussion of 
the Altamaha formation is the bluff on Satilla River at the King 
plantation, six miles south of Atkinson, for fossils occur in the basal 
bed of the section and there is some probability that the beds are con¬ 
temporaneous with the Altamaha beds exposed at Waycross and 
Blackshear, about 25 miles to the westward. 

Section at King Plantation 

Feet 


9. Gray sand (Pleistocene) . ... 1 

Pliocene 

8. Bluish, sandy clay, laminated; red splotches due 

to weathering. 4 

7. Gray, sharp sand; a small amount of dissemina- 

nated clay, some small quartz pebbles .... 8 

6. Drab clay layer. 2 

5. Gray sand, containing clay laminae an inch or 

two thick . 8 

4. Gray, fine-grained, very sandy clay. 3 

3. Gray sand . 2 

2. Yellow sand, fragile molds of shells. 2 

1. Bluish, laminated argillaceous sand, containing 

fragile shells and a few small bone fragments 2 


From the shell bed JSTo. 1 Mr. T. H. Aldrich identified several 
species and regards the horizon as probably Pliocene. 


Feet 

3 


10 

15 

4 












420 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Fossils from bluff of Satilla River, King Plantation, six miles south 
of Atkinson, identified by T. H. Aldrich. 


Rangia cuneata (Gray) 
Mulinia lateralis (Say) 
Mulinia congesta (Conrad) 
Dosinia sp? 


Modiolaria sp? 

Gemma purpurea, H. C. Lea 
Neretina sp? 

Neverita sp? 


New Species 

Potamides saltillensis Amnicola georgiensis 

Potamides cancelloides Amnicola expansilabris 

Paludestrina plana Planorbis antiquatus 

Amnicola saltillensis 

There is no good evidence of an unconformity between the fossil- 
iferous bed and the upper part of the bluff. Although no definite,, 
structural break was detected in the section there is some ground for 
believing that a part of the section above the fossiliferous layer, in 
addition to the surface gray sand, should be referred to the Pleis¬ 
tocene and not to the Pliocene. 

On the Jacksonville branch of the Seaboard Air Line Railway at 
Waverly, Woodbine, Colesburg, and Kingsland, in Camden County, 
red sands, which are probably of the same age as the red sands in the 
vicinity of Savannah are exposed in the shallow cuts. Although re¬ 
sembling the Altamaha materials, and here tentatively referred to 
that formation, they may eventually prove to be Pleistocene terrace 
deposits. These red sands are covered with a thin mantle of sur- 
ficial, gray sands. 


WESTERN AND SOUTHERN LOCALITIES 


Drab claystones and gray sandstones appear near the Georgia 
Southern and Florida Railroad, one-half mile north of Worth, 
Turner County. 


Section one-half mile north of Worth. 


Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Upper part of hill partly concealed, projecting 

beds of sandstone and conglomerate. 

5. Drab, sandy claystone, massive. 

4. Mottled clay layer. 

3. Gray sandstone or grit in places very hard . . . 

2. Mottled clay. 

1. Indurated gray or drab, fine textured clay; breaks 
with an angular, conchoidal fracture. 


Feet. 


20 

20 

1.5 

5 

5 

8 


At this locality indurated sands and clays may be seen grading 
into non-indurated materials which have the mottled aspect so char¬ 
acteristic near the surface throughout the Altamaha terrane. 


^Nautilus, vol. 24, No. 11, March. 1911, p. 131. 








PLIOCENE 


421 


In a cut of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad near the bridge, one- 
half mile east of Sylvester, Worth County, the following section was 
observed: 


Section in railroad cut one-half mile east of Sylvester. 


Feet. 


Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation 

7. At the top of the cut, orange-colored loam con¬ 
taining small, iron oxide “pebbles”. 3 

6. Yellow, crossbedded sand containing small angular 

quartz pebbles; thin layers of clay in the sand 6 

5. Purple sand . 0 

4. Yellow sand . 7 

3. Purple sand . 0 

2. Yellow sand . 0 

(Unconformity.) 

1. Purplish, sandy, massive bed of clay. 2 


In. 

3 

4 
6 

6 


The characteristics displayed here are angular, lath-shaped, quartz 
pebbles and unconsolidated sands. 

In the vicinity of Ticknor and Doerun, Colquitt County, there are 
areas of typical “pimple” or “pebble” land, or land strewn with 
small, brown, iron oxide concretions resutling from the weathering 
of Altamaha materials. 

Pelham, Mitchell County, is located on the top of the Altamaha 
escarpment which parallels Flint River. Rear the surface there is 
a red or mottled, argillaceous loam overlain by a carpet of gray sand. 
Drab and purplish, very sandy clays occur beneath the surface 
formation. “Pimple” land occurs in this neighborhood also. 

At Forest Falls, or Limesink, eight miles north of Whigham, 
Grady County, the Altamaha (Lafayette?) formation varies in 
thickness from 8 to 20 feet. It overlies the Alum Bluff formation 
unconformably. At the base are gray and yellow sands and greenish, 
“gummy” clays, and at the surface red, case-hardened sands.. 

& In southern Georgia and near the Florida line the formation has 
a lesser thickness, and over parts of Grady, Thomas, and Brooks 
counties is entirely absent. The topography of this part of the btate 
Las been influenced more by the Alum Bluff formation than by the 
Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. Sandstones and conglomerates 
which farther to the northward characterize the Altamaha terrane, are 

^TnfhTrailroad cuts and in an adjacent gully three-quarters of a 
mile west of Climax, Decatur County, the Altamaha formation 
overlies gray, or greenish and drab, interstratified clays and sands 
which probably belong to the Alum Bluff formation. Neither the 
Tipper nor lower exposures bear fossils, and there are differences 








422 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


of opinion as to a division of the strata. A detailed section at this 
locality, made by Dr. Vaughan, has been quoted on page 348. All 
the beds exposed from the level of the track up, except the gray, sur- 
ficial sands, in the second cut west of Climax have the lithologic 
characters of the Altamaha formation at other localities. 

The section in the second cut, not including the gully exposures, 
is as follows: 


Section in railroad cut three-quarters of a mile west of Climax . 


Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

6. Beginning at the top,—gray incoherent sand 

reaching a maximum of. 

5. White and orange-colored, argillaceous sand, mot¬ 
tled and massive, due to weathering. 

4. Thin, siliceous crusts of limonite, apparently 

marking an unconformity. 

3. Purplish, white and yellow, crossbedded sand . . . 
2. Gray or drab clay layer with purplish splotches; 
appears to be a lens in the sand; varies from 
6 to 12 feet above the level of the track . . . 
1. White, purplish, and yellow, crossbedded, coarse 
sand; very small percentage of disseminated 
clay; sand mainly angular, quartz grains; 
maximum thickness. 


Feet. 


3 

7 

1 

15 


2.5 to 4 


12 


The beds between the level of the branch and the track level, 
about 40 feet, probably belong to the Alum Bluff formation. 

Characteristic, mottled, argillaceous sands of the Altamaha forma¬ 
tion appear in the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad cuts near Fowltown 
and Recovery in Decatur County. In a cut one and one-half miles 
west of Recovery the contact with Alum Bluff is exposed. Six feet 
of mottled, argillaceous sand rest unconformably upon two to four feet 
of fine, gray sand containing a small amount of disseminated clay. 
About 10 feet below the level of the track a sandy limestone referable 
to the Chattahoochee formation is exposed. 

In the first cut east of the station at Whigham, Grady County, the 
Altamaha formation appears as thin layers of red and purple sand, 
alternating with laminated clay. Some of the clay laminae are not 
more than a fraction of an inch in thickness, and the clay layers 
have sand partings. In a cut one mile east, light, green clays of 
the Alum Bluff formation appear overlain by orange-colored sand of 
the Altamaha formation. 

Fine exposures appear in the railroad cuts at Cairo, Grady 
County. The formation here consists of mottled, sandy clays and 
crossbedded, yellow and red sands, with dull yellow loam at the sur¬ 
face. The peculiar mottling or calico effect, due to weathering, is 
shown in a photograph made in a cut west of Cairo. Plate 
XXVIII-B. 






PLIOCENE 


423 


The Alum Bluff formation is exposed in the terrace escarpments of 
Ocklockonee Biver at the 204th and 205th mileposts on the Savannah- 
Montgomery division of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The 
overlying Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation appears in a cut which 
extends from milepost 203 eastward for one-half mile; the formation 
here is a massive, argillaceous sand, mottled with yellow and gray. 
At Thomasville, Thomas County, the Altamaha is represented by a 
small thickness of red sand. 

South of Cairo, Thomasville, Boston, and Quitman, the forma¬ 
tion appears only on the higher hills as a capping. It consists 
mainly of red loam and may be easily confused with the red, argilla¬ 
ceous sand, residual from the Alum Bluff. North of these points 
the formation presents topographic and lithologic characters similar 
to those which prevail in the northern part of the Altamaha area. 

One of the fetv Exposures south of Thomasville which are consid¬ 
ered referable to the Altamaha, occurs on the Tallahassee road, 12 
miles south of Thomasville. 

Section twelve miles south of Thomasville. 

Feet. 


5. At top of hill—gray, surficial sand. 2 

Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

4. Stratified sand and clay, mottled red and white, 

coarser in texture than the underlying materials 20 


Alum Bluff formation (contact obscured by weathering and creep.) 

3. Residual, red, sandy clay. 30 

2. Greenish, fossiliferous clay. 10 

Chattahoochee formation. 

1. Limestone . 15 

The materials capping the hill on the IMallet plantation on the 
Boston-Monticello road, four and one-half miles southwest of Boston, 
Thomas County, have much the appearance of the Altamaha forma¬ 
tion, but their relation to the underlying residual sand of the Alum 
Bluff formation is obscure. 

The Altamaha formation appears in railroad cuts near Quitman, 
Brooks County, and near Kinderlou and Valdosta, Lowndes County, 
It attains only a small thickness and is underlain by sandy clays of 
the Alum Bluff formation. 

East and southeast of Valdosta the country is a flat, sand-covered 
plain in which there are few natural exposures. Yellowish, mottled 
sands occur beneath the gray surface sands. It is probable that there 
is a small thickness of the Altamaha formation underlying this re- 
gion. The mottled sand in the cut one mile west of Stockton has 
the appearance of this formation. 






424 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLATE 


PLEISTOCENE 

The Pleistocene deposits consist of thin, fluviatile and marine 
terrace accumulations of sand, clay, and gravel. The only systematic 
description of the Pleistocene of the Georgia Coastal Plain pre¬ 
viously given is that of W j McGee. 1 McGee first studied the Pleis¬ 
tocene in the District of Columbia, gave it the name “Columbia 
formation” and differentiated it into three phases, the fluvial, in¬ 
terfluvial, and low-level phases. The formation was traced south¬ 
ward to the Mississippi and to Mexico. He recognized the three 
phases in Georgia and gave brief, general descriptions of them. Pre¬ 
vious to McGee’s studies, Lyell had already observed successive ter¬ 
races on the coast of Georgia, and other observers have also men¬ 
tioned them, hut their geological significance seems not to have been 
fully presented. 

In the present report the differentiation is based largely upon phys¬ 
iography, and the formations are described in greater detail than in 
McGee’s report. The name Columbia as a group name is retained. 
The divisions are given in the following table: 

f n . .. fsatilla formation f Marine terrace deposits 

Pleistocene J Columbia! t Fluviatile deposits 

1 group 1 Okefenokee formation ( Coastal terrace sand 
L L l Fluviatile deposits 

The solution of the Pleistocene problem of Georgia, and in fact 
of the Atlantic Coast region in general, is cbnditioned largely upon 
a knowledge of topographic details. This knowledge can not be 
acquired until detailed topographic maps-have been made available. 

In Georgia the Pleistocene formations do not lie superimposed one 
upon the other, hut occupy terrace benches at different topographic 
positions with respect to each other. 

During the Okefenokee period gray sands and other sediments 
were laid down on a terrace plain of probable marine origin, now 
fiO to 125 feet above sea-level, and contemporaneous fluviatile ter¬ 
race deposits consisting of gravels, sands, and loams, were laid down 
on the “second” terrace skirting the larger rivers. 

During the Satilla period gray sands and ntuds were laid down 
on a marine terrace, a flat plain 20 to 40 miles broad, border¬ 
ing the coast at elevations of 15 to 40 feet above sea level, and cor¬ 
responding terrace alluvium was deposited along the rivers. 

Although the available data are at present too incomplete to admit 
of a positive statement it is not improbable that an older Pleistocene 

VThe Lafayette formation; Twelfth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1890-1891 • 
jpp. 353-521. 



PLEISTOCENE 


425 


han tL P nw eX1 f S 0 the westward of - “d at a higher elevation 
han the Okefenokee terrace. Evidence of such a plain is to be seen 

rwf t 0 P 0 ^' a P hlc aspect of the country lying along the Atlantic 
Coast Line Railroad between Valdosta, Lowndes County, and Way- 
ctoss, Ware County; along the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad between 
n„'. rSOn ’ , C , offee County, and Waycross; and along the Southern 
S'® 611 Ba ^ ley A PP lin S County, to near Jesup, Wayne 
. e general surface of the belt of country crossed by these 
railroads is a nearly level plain which gradually descends towards 
tne coast. Along the first mentioned railroad there is a descent from 
an elevation of 215 feet at Valdosta to 140 feet at Waycross; along 
the second there is a descent from 205 feet at Pearson to 140 feet 
at Waycross; and along the third, a descent from 206 feet at Baxley 
to 155 feet at Odum. 

? 1 ° r ^ ern P^ rt Effingham and the southern parts of Screven 
and Bulloch counties, also present the aspect of a plain similar to the 
Okefenokee Plain. 


COLUMBIA GROUP 
OKEFENOKEE FORMATION 

The name Okefenokee is derived from Okefenokee Swamp, a great, 
swampy tract in southern Georgia covering parts of Charlton, Ware 
and Clinch counties. The swamp occupies a portion of the plain on 
which were laid down the deposits under consideration. The Oke¬ 
fenokee formation consists in part of coastal terrace deposits and in 
part of river terrace or fluviatile deposits. During this period there 
was probably a depression of the land, the coast line perhaps being 40 
to 75 miles west of its present position. Coastal sands and probably 
other sediments were laid down forming a terrace, and contempora¬ 
neous fluviatile deposits were formed on terraces skirting the larger 
rivers as far as the Fall Line. The coastal terrace formed during this 
period is a flat plain 20 to 40 miles wide, which varies in elevation 
from 60 to about 125 feet above sea-level. It is covered with gray and 
white quartz sand. The river terraces lie 50 to 100 feet above zero 
water level, and form prominent topographic features along Savan¬ 
nah, Ocmulgee, and Chattahoochee rivers. The terrace deposits 
consist of sands and gravels of fluviatile or fluvioestuarine origin. 
The two types of deposits will be described separately. 

COASTAL TERRACE DEPOSITS 

The coastal terrace phase of the formation is represented princi¬ 
pally by a thin deposit of gray sand which covers the Okefenokee 
Plain, a topographic division which has been described in the chapter 


426 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


on physiography. The age of the formation is determined by the 
physiographic position and not by the evidence of fossils since fossils 
are entirely absent. The western boundary of this plain is marked 
approximately by a line extnding from near Sisters Ferry on Sa¬ 
vannah River, or Clyo, southeastward through the northern part of 
Bryan County, to about 10 miles north of Ludowici, Liberty County; 
thence to Jesup, and along the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to near 
Waycross, Ware County; and thence to the western boundary of the 
Okefenokee Swamp. It includes the Okefenokee Swamp, and the 
towns of Folkston, Jesup, Ludowici, and Hinesville are situated 
upon it. Its eastern boundary is marked by an escarpment 20. to 40 
miles from the coast, which separates it from the first or Satilla ter¬ 
race. (The' approximate area of this plain is shown on the sketch 

map, Fig. 1, p. 28). . , 

The most conspicuous deposit on the plain referable to this period 
is a gray sand. Red and yellow sands containing thin clay layers 
and pebble beds underlie the surface sand and are doubtless in part 
Pleistocene, although in this report such materials are in most cases 
tentatively referred to the Altamaha formation. The Okefenokee 
formation is not in contact with any formation older than Pliocene 
and Miocene. On the west the sand of the Okefenokee Plain 
merges into the surficial sand of a higher plain and it is not always 
possible to draw a sharp line of demarkation between them. 
Swampy flats traversed by small creeks occur in the plain and prob¬ 
ably, the muds underlying these flats’ belong to this period of the 
Pleistocene. 

The gray surface sand is composed almost entirely of subangular 
quartz particles, probably derived from the older. Coastal Plain 
formations. On the whole, it is, perhaps, finer in texture and 
lighter in color than the upland sands to the west. At the surface 
the sand is loose, incoherent, and structureless, but shows faint lines 
of stratification and current bedding at depths. At a few localities 
it is white at the surface and darker-colored beneath, the white 
phase having been formed by leaching and not as a separate deposit. 
A notable occurrence of white sand lies along the railroad between 
Ludowici and Darien Junction. 

In the Okefenokee Swamp the only deposits known, aside from 
the recent peaty accumulations,' are white, yellow, brown, and black 
sands,—the dark colors being due to large amounts of organic matter. 
The sand is in places indurated, due probably to a cement of iron 
oxide. This is the so-called “hard pan” of this area. 

The thickness of the sand is small, probably averaging less than 
10 feet over the whole plain. Good exposures appear at Folkston, 
where the average thickness is six or eight feet, with local accumula- 


PLEISTOCENE 


427 


tions reaching 15 or 20 feet; the sand is gray, almost white at the 
surface, and light yellow beneath. At other places over the plain the 
thickness varies from two or three to 10 or 15 feet. 

The plain which the Okefenokee sand covers is in general flat and 
almost featureless. Some of the larger streams which traverse it 
have bluffs 30 or 40 feet high, but these are exceptional. The ero¬ 
sive power of rainwater is lessened by the porous sand, and ravines 
and gullies are rare. The main streams have few tributaries. The 
plain is dotted with cypress ponds and swamps due to original in¬ 
equalities in the land surface. Locally the sand has been heaped into 
low ridges and hills which in certain instances were controlling fac¬ 
tors in determining the courses of streams. The anomalous course 
of St. Marys River is probably due to obstructing sand ridges. 
s As may be inferred from the lithologic description given above, 
little can be said regarding the structure of this formation. It con¬ 
forms to the low seaward slope of the Okefenokee Plain and varies 
in elevation from 60 to 125 feet above sea-level. 

LOCAL DETAILS 

Surficial sands. —Gray, yellow, and brownish to almost black 
sand, reaching a thickness of 20 feet or more, occurs in and on the 
borders of Okefenokee Swamp. 

The sands are prominent at Folkston; at the surface they are 
gray, or in places almost white, becoming yellow at depths. A 
high, sand-covered scarp occurs a short distance east of Folkston and 
borders St. Marys and Satilla rivers on the west. Fine-grained, 
sandy clay or mud, which may be an Okefenokee Pleistocene deposit, 
underlies a broad flat through which Spanish Creek flows. 

East of Way cross, near the 42 d mile-post on the Atlantic Coast 
Line Railroad, cuts on either side of Big Creek expose 10 or 15 
feet of brownish sand showing stratification lines. The color is due 
to organic matter. 

Heavy beds of gray sand occur at Waynesville, Wayne County, 
which is on the scarp between the first and second Pleistocene ter¬ 
races. A considerable area in southeastern Wayne County and 
eastern Pierce County forms a flat, swampy, palmetto and pine 
covered plain, over which the gray sands have a thickness of only 
three or four feet. 

Gray sands are conspicuous on the eastern edge of the plain at 
Mount Pleasant in Wayne County, and similar sands occur be¬ 
tween Jesup and Altamaha River in the same county. At Ludowici, 
Liberty County, the sands covering the plain are gray to almost 
white/and of small thickness. This pine-clad sand plain seems to 


428 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


merge gradually to the northwestward into the dry, rolling, wire- 
grass, sandhill region covered with a scattered tree growth, which 
surrounds Glenville, in Tattnall County. Gray sands are conspic¬ 
uous on the eastern edge of the plain at Walthourville in the same 
county. 

The sand-covered Okefenokee Plain extends northeastward from 
Ludowici, through Bryan and Effingham counties, to Savannah 
River. In Bryan County the surface gray sands and the typical 
topography of the plain are finely exhibited along the Seaboard Air 
Line Railway between Ellabell and Groveland. Here the western 
limit of the plain is on the west side of Cannoochee River, between 
Groveland and Daisy. 

Deposits beneath the surficidl sands .—At numerous places within 
the area covered by this plain there are, beneath the surface sands, 
deposits of sand and clay the ages of which are more or less problem¬ 
atic. Some of these deposits probably belong to the Okefenokee 
formation. Occurrences of such materials, concerning the Pleisto¬ 
cene age of which hut little doubt exists, are described or referred to 
below. 

The sands and clays overlying the Charlton formation in the 
higher bluffs on St. Marys River, described on pages 392-400 of 
this report, are tentatively referred to this formation. 

In a cut on the Southern Railway, three miles east of Jesup, a 
coarse, quartz gravel bed, which may belong to this division of 
the Pleistocene, is exposed. 

Sands and clays, probably referable to the Okefenokee formation, 
underly the surface sands at brickyards near Waynesville and Odessa, 
Wayne County. Unconformities, the significance of which could 
not be determined appear in these sections and it may be that both 
the Okefenokee and Altamaha formations are represented. 

Red and gray, argillaceous sands probably belonging to the Oke¬ 
fenokee formation, appear in bluffs of Savannah River at Prying 
Pan Landing, Gaffney Landing, and at Ebenezer, Effingham 
County. 

Certain deposits, described in the chapter on the Altamaha forma¬ 
tion and tentatively referred to that terrane, may eventually prove 
to be of Pleistocene age and referable to this formation. 

ELTTVIATILE TERRACE DEPOSITS 

Bordering the large rivers of the Coastal Plain of Georgia are 
remnants of a plain, higher than the “second bottoms’ 7 or Satilla 
Plain, and 50 to 200 feet lower than the general upland of the re- 
gipn. It is believed that the deposits laid down on this plain are 


PLEISTOCENE 


429 


contemporaneous with the Okefenokee coastal deposits. While the 
coastal portion of the Okefenokee terrace plain was being cut and the 
gray sands and other deposits were being laid down upon it, the 
terraces bordering the present river valleys, and their accompanying 
deposits, were being formed,—either by the waves along the borders 
of reentrant estuaries, or by the meandering of the rivers in the parts 
of the valleys not submerged. The river terraces coalesce with the 
coastal terrace. 

The river terrace plains lie 50 to 125 feet above the present rivers. 

mmecuately subsequent to their formation the fluviatile portions of 
Okefenokee plain filled the valleys from side to side, having 
widths varying from one to ten miles; into these ancient plains the 
rivers have intrenched themselves, forming younger plains at two 
lower levels,—one the Satilla plain, and the other the Recent flood 
Plain.. The cutting of these younger plains has resulted in the de¬ 
struction of all but remnants of the original Okefenokee plain. 

The Okefenokee fluviatile deposits overlie in turn all the older 
Coastal Plain formations, from the Cretaceous to the Pliocene. The 
materials have been derived in part, perhaps chiefly, from these older 
formations, and in part from the Piedmont Plateau region to the 
northward of the Coastal Plain. On account of lithologic similarity 
it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the terrace deposits 
and the underlying older formations. However, in most cases a 
gravel bed is present at the base of the terrace deposits, and uncon- 
formable relations to the older deposits appear wherever there are 
clean cut exposures. It is probable that in the past some of these 
deposits have been confused with the Altamaha formation as has 
been pointed out in the discussion of the Lafayette formation. 

The deposits consist chiefly of red, argillaceous sands, in places 
pebbly, and coarse gravels. There are but few clay beds and the 
formation lacks the distinctive alluvial character of the lower ter¬ 
race and flood plain deposits. Along some of the streams a gray, 
incoherent, rather pure sand seems to be the only deposit. Hear the 
Fall Line the deposits show clearly that they have been derived in 
large part from the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont region, but 
farther south the Coastal Plain formations have contributed a major 
portion of the materials. Along Withlacoochee, Allapaha, and Ock- 
lockonee rivers the detritus has been derived entirely from the 
Coastal Plain formations. The formation is usually unconsolidated 
but in a few places there are local beds of gravel cemented by iron 
oxide. The pebbles are chiefly quartz and quartzite, but a subordi¬ 
nate percentage are limestone, flint, and limonite. 

At a number of localities on the Okefenokee plain there are sur- 


430 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


ficial, brown-gray, loose, incoherent sands differing in their physical 
appearance and lithologic characters from the red loams and gravels 
forming the terrace deposits, and resembling closely the gray sands 
of the upland. Conspicuous accumulations of such sands were noted 
at Montezuma, Bainbridge, Fort Gaines, Dublin, and Lumber City. 
Some of these deposits are in the form of hills and are probably of 
wind-dune origin; they may have been formed subsequent to the 
elevation of the terrace plain. At other localities the gray sands ap¬ 
pear to be water-laid sediments which rest directly upon the older 
formations, forming a thin uniform mantle over the plain. 

The formation is thin, not exceeding 50 feet at any place, and 
usually much less than 20 feet. The greatest thickness was noted 
near the Fall Line. 

Except for fragments of silicified wood found at Fort Gaines, and 
fossils in limestone and flint pebbles derived from the underlying 
Tertiary beds, no fossils are known in this formation. 

The deposits are confined to comparatively level plains paralleling 
the rivers. The plains were originally one to 10 miles in width, 
hut the deposits have been so largely removed by subsequent erosion 
that their total area is relatively small. They are confined princi¬ 
pally to the courses of Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee, Oconee, 
Altamaha, Ogeechee, Savannah, Ocklockonee, Withlacoochee, Little, 
and Allapaha rivers. 

At a few localities the terrace plain forms a conspicuous topo¬ 
graphic feature. The physiography of the terrace is illustrated in a 
profile accompanying this report (See fig. 2, p. 37). The business 
portion of Macon, a part of the residence portion of Columbus, the 
cities of Fort Gaines, Albany, Lumber City, and parts of Augusta 
are built on this terrace. 

In detail the surface of the terrace is nearly level, the only undula¬ 
tions being due to sand heaps. The vegetation is more luxuriant 
and the soil generally more fertile than on the inters'tream uplands. 

The approximate elevations of the second, or Okefenokee terrace 
plain, above sea-level at the Fall Line are: 


Augusta . 

Milledgeville. 

Macon . 

Flint River at Fall line 
Columbus. 


River. Terrace Plain. 
. 98 200 

. 215 290 

, . 279 355 

. . 320 ? 380 ? 

. . 190 300 to 325 


From the Fall Line there is a gradual descent, until the river ter¬ 
races merge into the coastal sand plains bordering the sea coast. 







PLEISTOCENE 


431 


LOCAL DETAILS 

. Chattahoochee River.— Good exposures of the Okefenokee forma¬ 
tion occur in the valley of the Chattahoochee at Columbus, and Oma- 

a n Et Eufaula > Ala -> Fort Gaines, and at Columbia, Ala. 

At Columbus, Muscogee County, the deposits lie on a terrace ap- 
^ ee t a ^° ve river. They consist of bright 
re , highly ferruginous, clayey sands, and gravel composed of large, 
well-rounded quartz pebbles or cobbles. The formation is exposed at 
Rose Hill, Ga., and in Phoenix, and Girard, on the Alabama side 
of the river. It rests unconformably upon the Cretaceous and Crys¬ 
talline rocks. The deposits do not exceed 30 or 40 feet in thickness. 

In the vicinity of Eufaula, Barbour County, Ala., the second ter¬ 
race deposits appear in a bluff of Chattahoochee River, and form 
a level plain lying about 100 feet above the river. Upon this plain 
the greater part of the city of Eufaula is built. The formation rests 
unconformably upon the black clay-marls of the Ripley formation. 
The surface materials are massive, highly ferruginous, clayey sands, 
slightly hardened by atmospheric agencies, resting upon heavy beds 
of gravel. The gravels are made up chiefly of quartz pebbles. About 
one mile southeast of Georgetown, Quitman County, Ga., the gravels 
have been mined in a pit near the Central of Georgia Railway. Here 
the deposits are a heterogeneous mixture of gravel and red sand, in 
places indurated to such an extent as to require blasting. About 15 
feet is exposed in the pit. The pebbles are small and consist chiefly 
of vein quartz material. 

At Fort Gaines, Clay County, the second terrrace deposits consist 
principally of coarse, red, clayey sands with quartz pebbles at the 
base. They rest upon Eocene strata. A thickness of 25 feet was 
noted in this vicinity. In places large limestone fragments, evidently 
derived from the Midway formation (Eocene), occur in the base of 
the deposits. The pebbles are composed chiefly of subangular quartz; 
they are poorly stratified, being arranged in oblique lines and showing 
crossbedding. Good exposures occur at the old Brown Mill, one mile 
north of town. Fragments of silicified wood were noted which prob¬ 
ably came from this formation. In this vicinity loose, structureless, 
gray sands also appear on the terrace plain. 

At Columbia, Ala., and vicinity, the deposits consist of highly fer¬ 
ruginous, red, clayey sands with scattered small pebbles. The sands 
have a distinctive bright red appearance, and, upon exposure to the 
atmosphere, harden in a peculiar manner. The sands form a plain 
about 100 feet above the river level upon pinch the town of Columbia 
is built. 


432 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Flint River .—The deposits along Flint River lie 50 or 60 feet 
above the river and consist of coarse, red sands and gravels. The 
gravels, which consist of small pebbles, form the lesser part of the 
deposits. The sands contain some disseminated clay, and when weath¬ 
ered present a mottled appearance. A covering of gray sand is con¬ 
spicuous over the second terrace from the vicinity of Newton south¬ 
ward ; the plain here reaches a greater width than along any of the 
rivers. The upper part of Red Bluff on the west side of the river,, 
seven miles north of Bainbridge, presents an exposure of Okefenokee 
sand lying unconformably upon a mass of residual flint and clay de¬ 
rived from the Vicksburg and Chattahoochee formations. The de¬ 
posits vary from 6 to 29 feet in thickness; at the base they consist of 
coarse sands and small quartz pebbles with a few limestone and flint 
fragments; the upper part is composed of red, massive sand with suf¬ 
ficient clay to produce a mottled effect when weathered. On the west 
side of the river, and extending three or four miles northward from 
Bainbridge, is a conspicuous development of wind-blown sand upon 
the second terrace. 

Ocmulgee River .—Along Ocmulgee River deposits were recognized 
at Macon, Lumber City, and other points. At Macon they occur on 
a terrace 60 to 75 feet above the river, and form the plain on which 
the business section of Macon is built. They consist of coarse quartz: 
gravels and red, clayey sands containing fragments of siliceous lim- 
onite. The deposits are kaolinic in places, the source of the kaolin 
being in part the crystalline rocks which outcrop in the valley just to 
the north of the city, and in part the underlying Lower Cretaceous 
deposits. The beds are heterogeneous, show very little sorting, and 
present evidence of rapid deposition. At one point in a cut of the 
Georgia Southern and Florida Railway, near H. Stevens Sons’ Com¬ 
pany’s sewer-pipe plant, a bed of sandstone and conglomerate is 
prominent. The terrace deposit is easily distinguished from the un¬ 
derlying Cretaceous materials by its darker color and its coarser tex¬ 
ture. Its thickness can hardly be more than 20 or 25 feet. An ex¬ 
posure showing the relations, between the Cretaceous materials and 
the terrace deposits occurs in the bluff a few hundred yards south of 
the plant of the Cherokee Brick Company ; white, micaceous, kaolinic 
sand is overlain unconformably by 15 feet of crossbedded, vari-colored 
sand and gravel. Lying from 150 to 200 feet above the river are 
beds of gravel and red, argillaceous sands similar to those on the 
second terrace, but there is reason to believe that these are remnants 
of overlapping Eocene deposits. 

The terraces are inconspicuous at Hawkinsville and Abbeville and 
exposures are poor. The formation seems to consist of red sands 


pleistocene 


433 


* U l bordlm,te amounts of gravel. The plain lies about 60 feet 
above the river and is covered with loose, gray sand. 

At Lumber City the Okefenokee terrace is present as a well devel¬ 
oped plain about one mile wide on the north side of the river. The 
terrace deposits are exposed in the upper part of the river bluff. The 
materials are coarse, gray and red, pebbly sands with coarse quartz 
pebbles at the base. Among the pebbles were noted fragments of 
limestone derived from adjacent older formations. The formation 
probably does not exceed 20 feet in thickness; the surface of the plain 
lies 40 to 50 feet above the river. The Okefenokee plain is' here cov¬ 
ered in part by deposits of yellowish, incoherent sand heaped up. in 
places, probably by wind action. 


Savannah River. The Pleistocene' terraces are well developed at 
Augusta, but there are no sharp demarcations between the deposits 
on the second terrace and those on the adjacent upland. On the Caro¬ 
lina side at 80 to 100 feet above the river, bright red, ferruginous 
sand overlies, unconformably, Cretaceous’ strata and weathered 
schists, but exposures of red sand probably of Eocene age but of sim¬ 
ilar lithologic appearance occur in the slopes to an elevation of 200 
feet above the river. A mantle of loose, gray sand, slightly tinged 
with red, also appears on the slopes between the second terrace and 
the adjacent upland. On the Georgia side near Monte Sano a bed of 
red, clayey sand containing scattered quartz pebbles and fragments of 
siliceous limonite was observed lying unconformably upon arkosic 
sands and clays of the Lower Cretaceous. On account of its lithologic 
character and topographic position the deposit is considered referable 
to the Okefenokee formation. These also resemble red sands on the 
upland at Monte Sano, which probably correspond to the supposed 
Eocene sands on the upland east of Augusta in South Carolina. 

Along the lower course of Savannah River the terrace deposits lie 
50 to 60 feet above the river, and consist of gray, brown, and red, 
almost structureless, unconsolidated sands, and beds of gravel made 
up of quartz pebbles. The deposits are thin and not conspicuous. 


Ogeechee River. —Second terrace deposits appear along Ogeechee 
River but there are few exposures. They consist of a few feet of red 
sandy loam, often pebbly, overlain by a thin veneer of gray sand. 
The plain is 30 to 40 feet above the swamp level. The second terrace 
is well defined at Millen; the surface is 30 or 40 feet above the river; 
here the terrace deposit consists of red, clayey sand containing small, 
angular, quartz pebbles. 

Other rivers .—Along Withlacoochee, Little Allapaha, and Ock' 
lockonee rivers, the Okefenokee terrace deposits consist chiefly of non- 


434 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


pebbly sands, clay being almost entirely absent. The sands are brown 
or gray, often pure white, and are generally coarse and subangular. 
The terraces lies about 40 feet above the rivers. The sand deposits 
average about 10 feet in thickness. They are unconsolidated and 
massive, except at a few points where pebbles and faint stratification 
lines were observed near the contact with the older formations. This 
sand forms level plains which may reach two or three miles in width. 
The predominance of sand on these terraces is explained by the fact 
that the above mentioned rivers have their sources within the Coastal 
Plain and traverse only older formations' consisting predominantly of 
sand. 


SATILLA FORMATION 

The name Satilla is derived from Satilla River, Ga., and is applied 
to the latest Pleistocene deposits of the State. These deposits are 
typically developed along either side of Satilla River in Camden and 
Charlton counties. The shore-line during this submergence was par¬ 
allel to -that of the present Atlantic coast, but 20 to 30 miles farther 
inland. The greater parts of Camden, Glynn, and Chatham counties, 
all of McIntosh County, the southern part of Bryan County, and the 
eastern part of Liberty County were submerged, while the valleys of 
the larger rivers were inundated as far as the Fall Line. There were 
thus two types of deposits formed, coastal marine deposits and fluvia- 
tile or river terrace deposits. The two types will be described sep¬ 
arately. 

COASTAL TERRACE! DEPOSITS 

The coastal deposits lie upon a wave-cut terrace which extends 20 
to 30 miles back from the present ocean at elevations of 15 to 40 feet 
above sea-level. The western limit of this terrace or plain is marked 
by the high sand ridge east of Folkston, Charlton County, and by the 
escarpment at Waynesville and Mount Pleasant, Wayne County, 
and at Walthoursville, Liberty County. North of Liberty County the 
escarpment is not so pronounced as to the southward, and owing to 
the lack of topographic maps has not been traced in detail. However, 
it probably passes close to Clyde, Bryan County, Meldrim, Effingham 
County, and Meinhard, Chatham County. This terrace is in this’ re¬ 
port, referred to as the “first marine terrace” or “first Pleistocene 
plain,” and is not to be confused with the Recent analogous plain now 
in process’ of formation which is represented by sand beaches and tide 
marshes. 

The deposits on the Satilla plain rest unconformably upon Pliocene 
or Miocene strata, concealing the latter from view, except where ex* 


PLEISTOCENE 


435 


posed a long stream bluffs and banks. No sharp distinction can be 
drawn between the latest Pleistocene and the Recent deposits. 

he relative age of the formation with respect to the older Okefe- 
novee ormation is determined by its' topographic position and not 
by its stratigraphic sequence or paleontologic 3 vidence. 

The formation consists of greenish and bluish, marine clays; gray, 
white, and yellow sands; and thin layers of gravel. None of the 
deposits are consolidated. 

• I he arG fi n . e " texturec 4 a nd appear to have been muds depos- 

lte m lagoons or tidal marshes. They are calcareous in places and 
contain oyster shells and white calcareous nodules. They also contain 
organic remains in the form of disseminated, decayed vegetation, 
stumps of trees and bones of animals. Gypsum crystals were noted 
in deposits at Savannah and at Colerain Bluff on St. Marys 
River in Camden County. The clays are usually massive and show 
few traces of lamination or bedding. They are underlain by sands 
and often by thin beds of well-rounded quartz pebbles, apparently 
of beach origin. The sands cover the greater part of the plain and 
form bluffs on the coast. At the surface they are gray or pure white, 
becoming yellowish, brownish, or even black at depths’, the color being 
due to iron oxide and disseminated organic matter. They are com¬ 
posed almost entirely of sharp, angular, quartz grains, and are, per¬ 
haps, on the whole, finer than the gray, surficial sands of the higher 
plains. A small amount of mica and black sand, magnetite, ilmenite, 
and other black, silicate minerals were noted. They show evidences 
of stratification and crossbedding, and contain shells or prints of 
shells. In a few places the sands are slightly indurated by an iron 
oxide cement, as at the bluff near Crescent, McIntosh County. 

The sands and clays are closely associated and are contemporaneous 
deposits. 

The maximum thickness of the deposits is perhaps not more than 
50 feet and the average not more than 15 feet. A thickness of 22 
feet of clay has been observed near Savannah and 20 feet of sand 
appears at Crescent. At Rose Bluff, Fla., opposite St. Marys, the 
bluff, which at low tide is 45 feet high, exposes Pleistocene strata 
referable to this formation from base to top. 

The formation is fossiliferous and in this respect is in contrast to 
the older and topographically higher Okefenokee formation. Shells, 
mostly living species, are common in places; remains of mammals, 
megatherium, tapir, horse, mammoth, beaver, deer, and cetacea 
occur; sharks’ teeth occur at certain localities, and remains of a 
species of crocodile is found. Buried stumps are found in many 


436 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


places, but no other plant remains of paleontologic value have been 
discovered. 

A collection of bones and teeth made from the dredging at Bruns¬ 
wick were studied by Mr. J. W. Gidley, of the Smithsonian Institu¬ 
tion. He says: 

“The materials from Brunswick, Ga., consist for the most part of fossil 
fragments of various mammals and fishes representing species of early Pleisto¬ 
cene age. The sharks teeth, however, probably represent Eocene and Miocene 
species. The recognizable'genera and species are as follows: 


Mammals. 


Fishes. 


Reptiles. 


Equus fraternus Leidy 
Equus ? complicatus Leidy 

Equus ? tau Owen (or more probably an undescribed species) 
Mammut floridanum (Leidy) 

Physeter ? vetus Leidy or Physeterula ? neolassicus 
Megatherium sp. probably M. americanum 
Castoroides ohioticus 
Bison ? bison Linn. 

A Cervuiine, probably belonging to the genus Cervus 
Tapirus haysii Leidy 

Sharks—several species of the genera Carcharodon 
Galeocerdo and Lamna 
Sting-ray—Pastinaca sp. 

The sharks teeth represent several species of the genera 
Carcharodon, Galeocerdo, and Lamna. 

Crocodilus sp. 


The “Eocene and Miocene species” may be detrital material re¬ 
deposited during the Pleistocene. 

A collection of shells was made at Pose Bluff, Fla., opposite St. 
Marys, Camden County, from which the following forms were de-. 
termined by Dr. Vaughan. 


List of fossils from Rose Bluff, Fla., opposite to and four miles south¬ 
west of St. Marys, Ga. 


Mulinia lateralis (Say) 
Terebra dislocata Say 
Olivella mutica Say 
Nassa acuta Say 
Turbonilla sp. 

Neverita duplicata Say 
Natica pusilla Say 
Sigaretus perspectivus Say 
Nucula proxima Say 
Area incongrua Say 
Ostrea virginica Gmel. 


Anomia sumplex Orb. 

Phacoides multilineatus (T. & H.) 
Divaricella quadrisulcata Orb. 
Cardium robustum Solander 
Tellina (Angulus) sayi Deshayes 
Strigilla flexuosa Say 
Donax fossor Say 
Donax variabilis Say ? young 
Ervilia concentrica Gould 
Labiosa canaliculata Say 


Sir Charles Lyell 1 visited several localities along the coast of 


1 Travels in North America. 



PLEISTOCENE 


437 


Georgia. He notes finding the tooth of a Mylodon and the grinder 
of a mastodon at Heyners Bridge, 12 miles south of Savannah; he 
also mentions finding remains of Megatherium in the old Brunswick 
canal and on Skidaway island. Lyell suggests that the deposits are 
of fluvio-marine origin and that the bones of the ma mm als were 
carried down by streams. 

Oyster shells are found in the clay deposits west of Savannah, 
in clay in the western part of Glynn County, in the clay terrace 
bordering St. Marys Biver, and at other localities. Large bones of 
mammals have been found at Whiteoak, Camden County. 

The time which has elapsed since the emergence of the Satilla 
plain from below sea-level has been relatively short and erosion 
has as yet affected the appearance of the surface but slightly. The 
plain is very flat and there are great stretches of swamp land. In 
places on the plain there are low ridges of sand, probably of beach 
and wind-dune origin, although some such ridges may have existed 
as hanks or islands previous to the emergence of the plain above sea- 
level.. The clay flats probably represent the sites of old marshes and 
shallow estuaries and straits. 

If the coast region were uplifted 15 or 20 feet above its present 
elevation, a plain now submerged beneath the ocean waters w T ould 
appear as an emerged terrace lying east of and parallel to the Satilla 
terrace, and separated from it by an escarpment. This plain would 
he analogous to the Satilla plain in all its essential features. 

LOCAL DETAILS 

Observations have been made at the following localities: 

Savannah, Chatham County .—A thick deposit of fine-grained, 
plastic clay occurs near the Seaboard Air Line Railway, three miles 
west of Savannah. It is at a lower elevation than the land both to 
the east and west, and has the appearance of having been deposited 
in an ancient marsh or lagoon. The clay rests upon red sand and 
clay of an entirely different lithologic appearance, the age of which 
is problematical. 

At a point one and one-half miles west of this locality, and near 
the railroad, the clay, as determined by an auger boring, reaches a 
thickness of nine feet and is underlain by three feet of coarse gravel 
and sand. The clay is fine-grained, plastic, and contains small lime 
nodules and fragments of oyster shells. 

In a railroad cut seven and one-half miles west of Savannah is a 
yellowish, stiff, fine-grained clay containing oyster shells. The cut 
Is three feet deep and affords only a poor exposure. 


438 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


Near Pooler a clay deposit, which is being used in the manufac¬ 
ture of brick, contains oyster shells; buried tree stumps are also re¬ 
ported. The oyster appears to be Ostrea virginica, a species at 
present inhabiting Atlantic Coast waters. The clay lies in swampy, 
wet tracts and is three to eight feet thick. 

At Wheat Hill on the Seaboard Air Line Kailway, five miles north 
of Savannah, 10 feet of bluish, sticky mud containing oyster shells 
was found by boring. 

At the Isle of Hope a bluff eight feet high exposes brownish sand 
resembling burned sugar; the sand shows crossbedding, is slightly 
indurated, and contains a few scattered shells. 

A large part of the city of Savannah is built on a high, Pleisto¬ 
cene sand bluff or sand hill, surrounded on all sides by lower land. 
This bluff rises about 30 or 35 feet above the level of Savannah 
Kiver. The escarpment between this sand deposit and the more 
recently formed marsh or tide land is easily distinguished near the 
Tybee Island station of the Central of Georgia Kailway in the east¬ 
ern part of the city. 

A bluff on Savannah Kiver a short distance above “The Hermit¬ 
age” is about eight feet high and shows the following section: 

Section in bluff on Savannah River . 

Feet 

Satilla formation. 

3. White or gray, incoherent, quartz sand.1 6 

2. Bluish, sandy clay, weathers reddish.j 

(Unconformity.) 

Age (?) / 

1. Gray sand containing white or drab clay laminae 2 

Layer No. 1 may represent a formation older than the Satilla 
formation. No fossils were found. Northward from this point the 
marine terrace deposits merge into the fluvio-estuarine or fluviatile 
deposits of the lowest terrace bordering Savannah River. 

Southward from Chatham County, through Bryan, Liberty, and 
McIntosh counties, the surface is covered largely by gray or white 
sands, with subordinate areas of clays which contain oyster shells. 

Crescent, McIntosh County. —A picturesque sand bluff 20 feet 
high occurs at the mouth of Sapelo River near Crescent. The sand 
is gray or white at the surface and yellow or brownish at depths; 
it is sufficiently indurated to produce a nearly vertical cliff, and 
large wave-worn boulders of the material lie along the base. The 
induration is probably due to iron oxide cement and the dark color 
is in part at least due to organic matter. Only faint evidence of 
stratification was noted. No fossils were discovered. 




pleistocene 


439 


A red, argillaceous sand of problematic age was seen along the 

railroad about three miles west of Crescent. 

# 

Glynn County .—The Satilla formation in the western part of 
Giynn County is represented by clays underlying “clay flats” and 
swamps. The swamp areas probably are the sites of old sounds, 
marshes and drowned river courses in which chiefly muds were de¬ 
posited. The surface of the eastern part of the county is mainly 
sand. 

In the bed of a small creek on the Livingston plantation, 18 miles 
west of Brunswick, the Pleistocene consists of a few feet of greenish- 
gray, argillaceous sand containing fragments of bones and teeth. 

Remains of mammals were found in the excavations for the 
Brunswick canal in 1838 and 1839, and oyster shells are found in 
the clay deposits in the western part of the county. Fossil remains 
from the Pleistocene at Brunswick, obtained by dredging, have been 
described on page 436. 

A short distance west of Bladen and Everett City the rise from 
the swampy flats of the first terrace to the sandy pine plain of the 
second terrace may be easily observed without the aid of topographic 

maps. 

Camden County, Satilla and St. Marys Rivers .—At Whiteoak, 
near the station, a few feet of clay appears just above the level of 
high tide. The clay is an olive green in color, very sandy, and con¬ 
tains white, limy concretions. Bones of vertebrates have been found. 
A clay flat extends northward from Whiteoak to Bladen. 

Pleistocene clay and sand deposits occur along Satilla River. On 
the west side of the river at Burnt Fort is a clay flat or terrace nearly 
four miles wide. The clay of this terrace is greenish in color and 
stiff, and contains calcareous nodules. The surface of the flat is 
10 or 15 feet above the river. The clay overlies a soft, argillaceous 
limestone and an older sandy clay which are exposed in the river 
bank at low tide. 

At Owens Ferry farther down the river the Satilla formation ap¬ 
pears in a bluff about eight feet high. It consists of sand and bluish, 
sandy clay, becoming coarse-grained, and containing a few scattered 
pebbles at the base. It overlies a fossiliferous, calcareous sand and 
sandstone which are tentatively referred to the Miocene. 

Over most of the southeastern part of Camden County the only 
material exposed is gray or yellow, unconsolidated sand. 

There are a number of low sea bluffs near St. Marys in which sand 
only is exposed. Point Peter Bluff, four miles northeast of St* 


WVhite, George, Statistics of Georgia, 1849, p. 283. 



440 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


M a rys, is 10 or 12 feet high; the upper part of the bluff is com¬ 
posed of gray, almost white, incoherent sand, and the lower part is 
brown, chocolate, or almost black, slightly indurated sand. 

Miller Bluff on North River, five miles north of St. Marys, is 15 
feet high at low tide and is likewise composed of fine sand. The 
lower part of the bluff is brown or umber in color, and slightly in¬ 
durated. 

A collection of fossils was made at Rose Bluff, Fla., opposite to 
and four miles southwest of St. Marys. The bluff is composed en¬ 
tirely of sand. 

Section of Bose Bluff, opposite to and four miles southwest of St. 

Marys. 


Satilla formation. 

8 . At the top, gray or white, loose sand. 3 or 4 

7. Brownish sand, color due to organic matter and 
iron; compact enough to form large tide-washed 

boulders . 12 

15. Greenish, sandy clay.* ’ 4 

5. Brown sand contains scattered shells. 5 

4. Bluish, stick mud. 2 

5. Greenish clay and sand. 4 

2. Friable sand, full of shells.! ! ! ! 5 

1. Sand and greenish clay at low tide. 9 


The above section was made at a spring, the only point where 
fossils were found. 

A similar bluff, Reeds Bluff, about two miles above Rose Bluff, 
is described by Sellards. 1 A bed of oyster shells occurs here. 

The Satilla formation is exposed at Orange and Chalk bluffs and 
other localities on St. Marys River, where the deposits underly flat 
terraces. The best exposures are on the Florida side of the river. 

At Orange Bluff, two miles above Kings Ferry, Fla., the formation 
is a stiff, greenish clay overlying a white marl unconformably. The 
contact between the clay and the marl (Charlton formation) is 
marked by a line of well-rounded quartz pebbles, some as large as an 
inch in diameter. The formation has a thickness of four to six feet 
in the bluff; a few fragmentary oyster shells were noted in the clay. 

Stiff clay of the Satilla formation was also noted at Chalk Bluff, 
one-half mile above the preceding. 

At Sawpit Landing, two miles above the ferry at Traders Hill, 
Charlton County, a similar greenish clay forming a flat terrace is 
exposed in a low bluff to a thickness of three feet. For a section of 
this bluff see page 398. 


Wellards, E. H., Third Ann. Rep’t., Fla. Geol. Surv., 1910, p.. 127, 











GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA. 


PLATE XXIX. 



A. DEPOSIT OF PURE WHITE SAND USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS. 
PROBABLY BELONGING TO THE OKEFENOKEE FORMATION. TWO 
MILES NORTHEAST OF LUMBER CITY. TELFAIR COUNTY. 



B. BEARDS 


BLUFF ALTAMAHA RIVER. TATTNALL COUNTY. SHOWING 
PROMINENT CLAY LAYER IN SATILLA FORMATION, 
OVERLAIN BY LOOSE SAND. 




















































* 





















PLEISTOCENE 


441 


FLUVIATILE TERRACE DEPOSITS 

The fluviatile deposits of this period form low terraces along the 

S T erS ° f 7 e C ° 1 aSta ! Plain - The J consist of unconsolidated 
sands, clays, and gravels which merge coastward into the marine or 

uvio-marme deposits described on preceding pages. 

I he river terraces of the Satilla formation are comparatively flat 
plains from 10 or 15 to 40 or 50 feet above the rivers, and vary in 
width from 300 or 400 yards to an original width of 8 or 10 miles. 
.Ihey extend from the Pall Line southward and eventually merge 
into the marine terrace plain of the same formation. The greatest 
width is attained along the lower course of Savannah River, but the 
river is cutting into this original terrace and forming the Recent al¬ 
luvium. The topographic position of the terrace is illustrated in 
rlate II, B, opposite page 40. A distinction is made between the 
batilla terrace and the Recent flood plain. 

The Satilla deposits overlie Cretaceous and Tertiary formations 
^conformably. They vary in elevation above sea-level from about 
300 feet at the Fall Line to 20 or 30 feet where they merge into the 
coastal deposits. The thickness does not generally exceed 10 or 20 
feet, but a thickness of 40 feet is attained in places. 

. Lithologically, the deposits vary considerably on the different 
rivers. On the whole they have a distinctly fluviatile or alluvial 
aspect, consisting of clays, sands, and gravels, generally unconsoli¬ 
dated, and without regular bedding. The materials have been de¬ 
rived in part from the adjacent older Coastal Plain formations, and 
in part from the Piedmont Plain region to the northward. Sand 
heaps, probably wind accumulations, were noted at a number of 
places on this terrace. 

The formation contains but little of paleontologic interest. A few 
mammalian bones were found at the base of the deposits on St. Marys 
and Suwanee rivers; a few fragments of silicified wood have also 
been observed. 


Savannah River .—The Satilla plain or terrace bordering the 
Savannah River was originally a comparatively level plain, two to 
ten miles in width, which extended entirely across the valley. Into 
this plain the river has intrenched itself, meandered, and formed a 
broad, flood plain swamp of Recent age. Throughout the greater 
part of its course, from about 30 miles below Augusta to Purisburg, 
S. C., the river banks, exclusive of the high bluffs, expose chiefly 
the flood plain alluvium of the Recent swamp, the Pleistocene allu¬ 
vium appearing at but a few localities. 

At Augusta the deposits reach a thickness of 30 or 40 feet. They 


442 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


consist of sands, gravels, and lenticular layers of sandy and plastic- 
clays. The clays are used extensively in the manufacture of common 
building brick. The business portion of Augusta is built upon the 
plain formed by these deposits. 

New Savannah Bluff, 13 miles below Augusta, affords a fine ex¬ 
posure of the formation. The bluff reaches a maximum height of 25 
feet; the lower part consists of coarse, crossbedded sand and beds of 
small pebbles. A large percentage of the pebbles is composed of 
feldspar; the upper eight feet is red, coarse, harsh sand which con¬ 
tains a small amount of disseminated clay, and is sufficiently compact 
to form an abrupt face. At the upper end of the bluff there is a thin, 
non-persistent layer of bluish-white, sandy clay. The material ex¬ 
posed forms a level plain about one mile wide on the Georgia side of 
the river. 

Silver Bluff, 27 miles below Augusta, on the Carolina side, is the 
most typical Pleistocene bluff exposed on the river. It furnishes an 
excellent example of a fluviatile or fluvio-estuarine deposit. The ma¬ 
terials consist of coarse, crossbedded sands and gravels of a hetero¬ 
genous character, overlain by an undulating, massive, and non-lami- 
nated sandy clay, and this in turn by red and yellow sands. The 
pebbles are angular and occur in lenses about three feet thick. None 
of the beds are indurated. The bluff reaches a height of 22 feet. 
Opposite, on the Georgia side, the low silty banks of the swamp or 
Recent flood plain appear. 

Other exposures of the Satilla formation occur at Cohens Bluff 
Landing, S. C.; Poor Robin Landing, Gal; Parachuchla, and Puris- 
burg, S. C. At Cohens Bluff, 101 miles above Savannah, a bed of 
massive, light greenish clay, containing lime nodules is exposed. Its’ 
lithologic character indicates that it has been derived in large part 
from the argillaceous Eocene marls to the northward. At Para¬ 
chuchla, 55 miles above Savannah, the bluff exposes about 15 feet of 
structureless, gray, and light buff sand, underlain by two or three feet 
of mottled, sandy clay. The sand forms an oval hill produced by 
either wind or current action; the type of deposit is similar to that 
at Beards Bluff on Altamaha River described on a subsequent page. 
At Purisburg, S. C., 23 miles above Savannah, the formation appears 
in a bluff about 12 feet high in which is exposed reddish, sandy clay 
(color due to weathering), drab, laminated clay, crossbedded* sand, 
and coarse gravel resting unconformably upon Miocene strata. The 
pebbles, which have a maximum diameter of six inches, indicate a 
fluviatile or estuarine deposit; the coarseness of the gravel suggests 
that the material was carried down during floods, or at some stage 
when there were strong currents. 


PLEISTOCENE 


443 


Ogeechee River .—Along Ogeechee River, dposits of the Satilla 
formation consisting mainly of sand form a terrace, the upper surface 
of which lies about 10 feet above the river. At Rocky Ford, Screven 
County, however, clay probably belonging to this formation was' 
noted in a terrace which lies about eight feet above the swamp. A 
conspicuous development of the sand occurs at Eden, Effingham Coun¬ 
ty. The highest part of the sand hill west of Eden is nearly 20 feet 
above the swamp. 

Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers .—The Satilla terrace along Ocmulgee 
and Oconee rivers rises 10 to 20 feet above the river levels. In many 
places the terrace is swampy, is subject to overflow, and has the aspect 
of a Recent flood plain deposit. 

Hear the Fall Line, clay makes up the greater part of the deposits,, 
the amount of sand increasing to the southward. The general section 
at the Fall Line is: 

At the surface, sandy loam grading into brownish or yellowish 
clay with limonitic concretions; then bluish, plastic clay; and at the 
base, sand and gravel, water-hearing. 

Southward the plain is covered at many places with loose, gray 
sand, and the clays occur as lenticular beds of small extent, or in 
pockets in the sand. In places the clays are fine-grained, plastic, and 
contain lime nodules. 

Altamaha River .—Along Altamaha River the Satilla formation 
presents much the same aspect as along Savannah River. The Satilla 
plain originally had a maximum width of four or five miles; into 
this plain the Altamaha River has entrenched itself, meandered and 
formed an extensive Recent flood plain or swamp two to six feet 
above low water level. The Satilla beds appear in bluffs 10 to 15 feet 
high. Hillocks of wind-blown sand appear at different places over the 
terrace plain. 

Beards Bluff (see plate XXIX, B), in Tattnall County, 60% miles 
below the forks, affords a good example of the fluviatile phase of the 
formation. The bluff is about 15 feet high and is capped by a dome 
of fine, gray sand; beneath the surface sand is an undulating layer of 
bluish, sandy clay, and beneath the latter, forming the base of the 
bluff, is a coarse, current-bedded sand. The surface sand seems to 
have been accumulated by wind action. The clay and lower sand 
were probably reworked from the Altamaha formation. Ohoopee 
White Bluff, 39% miles below the forks also presents a good section 
of the Satilla formation. The section is similar to that at Beards 
Bluff except that the wind-blown surface sand does not appear. A 
coarsely arenaceous clay bed, which terminates abruptly along the 


444 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


bluff, appears in the section. The materials as a whole are hetero¬ 
genous in character and appear to have been deposited by rapid river 
currents. Buckhorn, Bed, and Town Bluffs expose materials, mainly 
sand, referable to this formation. 

Flint River .—Near the Ball Line the first terrace above the river 
is broad and swampy, and is underlain mainly by brownish and bluish 
plastic clays. From Oakfield to Bainbridge the Satilla terrace forms 
a narrow plain, 15 to 20 feet above the river. The terrace deposits 
are exposed at a number of places. The general section is as follows: 
At the surface—loose, gray sand; then undulating layers and pockets 
of clay; at the base—coarse, heterogenous, crossbedded sand with 
lesser amounts of gravel. 

Chattahoochee River .—The best development of the Satilla terrace 
occurs along the Chattahoochee Biver. The river has cut a narrow 
trench about 40 feet deep in the nearly level plain, exposing uncon¬ 
solidated sands, clays, and gravels of the Satilla formation, resting 
upon strata of Tertiary and Cretaceous ages. Conditions differ from 
those on Savannah and Altamaha rivers in that there is scarcely any 
swamp bordering the river, and the plain is on the whole higher above 
the river level; tributary streams enter the river through narrow 
trenches or gorges and not through swamps, as on Savannah and Alta¬ 
maha rivers. 

Fine developments of the terrace may be seen at Columbus, Omaha, 
Georgetown, opposite Eufaula, Ala., and at Fort Gaines. This ter¬ 
race plain reaches a maximum width of three miles but the average 
is not perhaps more than one or one and one-half miles. 

Opposite Columbus the terrace material consists in part of brownish 
or yellowish, structureless loam presenting somewhat the appearance 
of loess’. The Satilla terrace forms a level plain, approximately one 
mile wide and about 50 feet above the river, on which a part of the 
city of Columbus is built. 

The deposits consist predominantly of sand; clay layers occur in 
undulating beds of variable thickness and in pockets enclosed by sand, 
and gravel beds are common at the base of the terrace deposit. The 
crossbedding and the general heterogeneous' character of the materials 
indicate rapid changes in the conditions of deposition. 

Southward from Columhus the deposits begin to show evidence of 
being derived in part from the Coastal Plain formations. 

Other rivers .—The deposits of this formation bordering the Ock- 
lockonee, Withlacoochee, Allapaha, Suwanee, and St. Marys rivers 
are composed almost entirely of gray or white sand and gravel, with 
subordinate clay beds in a few places. The rivers have cut narrow 


REGENT 


445 


trenches resembling canals in the sandy terrace plains of the for¬ 
mation. The terrace plains reach a width of one-half mile or more, 
though usually they are much narrower; their surfaces lie about 8 
to 15 feet above the rivers. 

Along Withlacooehee River, east of Quitman, the Satilla terrace 
is about 20 feet above the river and is about one-half mile wide. The 
sand is pure white in places and might be suitable for use in the manu¬ 
facture of bottle glass. It is' usually fine at the surface hut becomes 
coarser with depth, often showing crossbedding at the base. 

On the Allapaha, two miles east of Milltown, the terrace is well 
developed and is about 15 feet above the river. The section at the 
wagon bridge is as follows: 


Section at wagon bridge two miles east of Milltown. 

™ , Feet. 

Pleistocene. 

Satilla formation. 

3. Brownish or chocolate-colored sand, gray or white 

over the surface of the plain. 5 

2. Brown or yellow, coarse sana, quartz, and quartz¬ 
ite pebbles;- also contains small white pebbles of 
phosphate . 2 


(Unconformity.) 


Oligocene. 

Alum Bluff formation. 

1. Greenish, laminated, sandy clay 


S 


This terrace forms a clay fiat west of Stockton. 

At Statenville, Echols County, the Satilla formation consists of 
very pure, gray or white, quartz sand, in places coarse-grained. The 
terrace lies about 20 feet above the river. 

At Bony Bluff, nine miles southwest of Fargo, large, blackened 
bones and fragments of silicified wood are found in a bed supposed 
to lie at the base of the formation. 

On St. Marys River from near St. George up the valley the de¬ 
posits of the formation may be considered of fluviatile or fluvio- 
estuarine origin. They form a flat sand terrace about 12 feet above 
the river. At Stokes Ferry, 11 miles south of St. George, the basal 
part of the formation consists of pebbly sand in which are embedded 
fragments of hones and teeth, and roots of trees. 

V RECENT 


The Recent deposits, or those formed since the close of the Pleisto* 
cene or the uplift of the Satilla or latest Pleistocene terrace, and now 
in the process of formation, consist of: (1) marsh and tide-swamp 
muds; (2) beach sand and dunes; (3) river flood plain deposits; 
(4) interstream swamp deposits; (5) certain terrigenous deposits 
semi-alluvial in character. 





446 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


The processes by which the Satilla terrace, with its accompanying 
deposits, was formed are being repeated at the present time along 
the coast. The Recent terrace which is thus being formed is largely 
submarine. Beach sands are being laid down on the ocean front, 
while the courses of the streams entering the ocean are drowned and 
converted into estuaries, and muds are being deposited in the marsh 
and tide-swamp land. In the absence of any accurate maps the area 
of marsh and tide-swamp land along the coast may be roughly esti¬ 
mated at 400 square miles. While observations have not been made 
at a very large number of localities, the thickness of the Recent de¬ 
posits in the area inundated by the tides probably does not exceed 
six feet. The composition of the muds is indicated by the following 
analysis of a sample from St. Simons Island, made by Dr. Edgar 
Everhart from a sample collected by Prof. McCallie. 

Analysis of mud from St. Simon Island. 


Moisture at 100° C. 4.62 

Loss on ignition . 9.94 

Soda, Na 2 O. 3.06 

Potash, k 2 0 1.13 

Lime, CaO .40 

Magnesia, MgO. 1.28 

Alumina, A1 2 0 3 . 13.67 

Ferric oxide, Fe 2 0 3 . 4.86 

Titanium dioxide, Ti0 2 .. 1.01 

Sulphur trioxide, S0 3 . .24 

Phosphorus pentoxide, P 2 0 5 . .22 

Chlorine, Cl. 1.77 

Silica, Si0 2 ..57.95 


Total .100.15 


In places the Satilla terrace is separated from the Recent terrace 
by bluffs 10 to 15 feet high, while at other localities the two merge 
into each other. 

The Recent alluvium along the Coastal Plain streams consists 
mainly of sand, although along the lower courses of Altamaha and 
Savannah rivers some clay has been deposited. Owing to the com¬ 
paratively short period that has elapsed since the close of the Pleisto¬ 
cene, deposits of this class are of small extent. Along some of the 
streams the only Recenl deposits are accumulations of sand in the 
form of bars. * 

In the southeastern part of the Coastal Plain of Georgia are 
numerous swamps ranging in size from one to two acres to that of the 
immense tract known as Okefenokee Swamp. Peaty accumulations 
or decayed plant matter with more or less silt and sand are being 
formed in these swamps. In the Okefenokee Swamp peaty accumu- 

















SURFICIAL SAND 


447 


ations to the thickness of four feet are reported. Some of the swamp 
areas are densely wooded and have been the roosting places of birds 
for perhaps centuries, and a phosphatic muck is being slowly formed 
from their dung and dead bodies. 

Sand deltas or plains of semi-alluvial character form another type 
of Recent deposits. In the northern, hilly part of the Coastal Plain 
erosion has been very active on account of the loose, unconsolidated 
character of the formations; and at certain localities, especially where 
the forests have been cut away, deep gullies have been formed. Every 
torrential ram moves large quantities of sand which, on acount of 
over-loading, is deposited along the beds of the small creeks, forming 
so-called “sand streams,” or is spread out at the mouths of gullies 
forming small subaerial deltas. The best example of this type is at 
the huge gullies or “caves” west of Lumpkin, Stewart County. A 
“sand stream” is illustrated in Plate XIY, B. 


SURFICIAL GRAY SANDS OF THE UPLAND 

Surficial grayish or brownish, incoherent quartz sands cover large 
portions of the interstream uplands of the Coastal Plain of Georgia 
at elevations' higher than the Pleistocene terrace plains. On account 
of the sterility of the soils which these sands produce and their in¬ 
fluence on the topography and tree growth, they attract the attention 
-even of persons who are not interested in problems of geology. The 
sands are not everywhere of the same origin. Much of the sand is 
residual and can not be referred to any one geologic period or forma¬ 
tion. However, in places there are wind-blown accumulations, and at 
rare intervals the marks 6f stratification can be detected. In this 
report no attempt has been made to sub-divide or to map these sands 
and a part of this work would, perhaps, more properly fall within the 
province of a soil survey. 

The surficial gray sands are made up almost entirely of crystalline 
quartz there being at no place sufficient clay to render them coherent. 
A number of samples were examined microscopically. In addition 
to the quartz grains’, small percentages of clay, some limonite and 
allied iron oxide minerals, and very small amounts of minerals com¬ 
mon to igneous rocks such as mica, magnetite, ilmenite, feldspar, and 
rutile were detected. The clay content rarely exceeds three per cent; 
the limonite occurs as a coating over the quartz grains and gives the 
sand its yellowish or brownish appearance. On the whole, the sand 
is uniformly fine in texture; in samples tested from several localities 
40 to 60 per cent, of each sample passed a 40-mesh sieve; the texture 
of the- residual sands at any particular locality depends upon the 
character of the sands in the formations from which they were de- 


448 


GEOLOGY OF THE‘COASTAL PLAIN 


rived. In ail of the more notable deposits the quartz grains are for 
the most part subangular. In color the sands’ are dull gray or white 
at the surface, hut at varying depths becomes yellowish or some darker 
shade; the darker basal sands grade downward into the underlying, 
unweathered, argillaceous, sandy formations. Pebbles are not com¬ 
mon although at a number of localities they have been observed. 
They consist of small, well rounded to angular, quartz pebbles, and 
small, brown or black, iron oxide nodules. Slight differences in the 
character of the sands at various localities have been noted, but on 
the whole they are uniform in texture, color, and composition, not¬ 
withstanding their diversity of origin.' 

The surficial sands vary in thickness from a few inches’ to a maxi¬ 
mum of 30 feet. The greatest thickness of what appear to he re¬ 
sidual sands occurs at the sand-pits near Howard, Taylor County, 
where the maximum is 20 or 30 feet. At other localities along the 
Pall Line 10 to 25 feet of sand has been observed, but over much of 
the “sand hill’ region, the thickness does not exceed five or six 
feet. Over the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) terrane the average depth 
of the residual sands in place is probably between two and four feet, 
but there are local accumulations of sands of torrential or eolian 
origin reaching a thickness of 10 to 25 feet. In the western part of 
the Coastal Plain, principally that part underlain by the Vicksburg 
formation, the gray sands are either absent or very thin. They are 
absent also in scattered smaller areas in other parts of the upland 
region. 

The surficial sands are present as a thin mantle over parts of the 
upland region from the Fall Line on the north to the Florida State 
line on the south. To the southeastward, within 50 or 75 miles of 
the Atlantic Coast, they merge into the lithologically similar sands 
which cover the Okefenokee terrace plain. The sands are unequally 
distributed over the upland and are notably absent from certain 
areas. Their most conspicuous development is in the Fall Line 
region, chiefly over the area underlain by Lower Cretaceous strata; 
they are also well developed over the region underlain by the Alta¬ 
maha and Alum Fluff formations in the eastern and southeastern 
parts of the Coastal Plain. Upland areas, where the sands are nearly 
or entirely absent, are the following: Certain areas’ in Burke, 
Washington, Wilkinson, and Twiggs counties which are underlain 
by red, ferruginous sands of the Claiborne formation; Pich Hill, 
Crawford County; the Fort Valley plateau, and the “red lands’’ in 
the vicinity of Grovania, Henderson, and Elko in the southern 
part of Houston County; the northern part of Dooly County; in the 
vicinity of Americus, and the southern part of Sumter County; 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA 


PLATE XXX. 



















» 


























































SURFICIAL SAND 


449 


laige P^s of Randolph, Terrell, Dougherty, and other counties 
west of Flint River; and in the southern parts of Grady, Thomas, 
and Brooks counties. 

The sands, notwithstanding their relatively insignificant thick¬ 
ness, have had a very marked influence upon the topography, vege¬ 
tation, and settlement of the country. The “sand hills” constitute 
a well known type of topography in the region of the Fall Line, 
and throughout that part of the area underlain by the Altamaha 
(Lafayette ?) formation, popularly known as the “wire-grass” re¬ 
gion. In the latter region the sands are most conspicuous along 
the streams and particularly along those streams having general 
north-south courses. It has been commonly noted by the people 
living in this region that the accumulations of sands are greater on 
the east or left sides of the streams. Numerous exceptions to this 
may be found in the Coastal Plain region as a whole, but it is pre¬ 
vailingly true over the “wire-grass” region. The hills perhaps 
antedate the present streams and may have governed their courses in 
part, the western front having acted as a barrier preventing the 
streams from pushing their courses to the eastward. The most 
notable examples of this type of sand hills are on the eastern side of 
Ohoopee River at Reidsville; on Cannoochee River at Stillmore; on 
Little Ocmulgee River two miles east of Helena and at Lumber City; 
and on the north side of Satilla River north of Waycross. These hills 
are well above the level of the streams and the sand is not to be 
confused with the alluvial sands’ of lower levels. The vegetable 
growth over the sand hills is sparse, consisting mainly of scattered 
long-leaf pines and stunted oaks, and the soil is poor and unpro¬ 
ductive. 

The origin of the gray sands which form the “sand hills” and 
cover the higher interstream areas of the Coastal Plain has been 
a perplexing problem to geologists and other investigators. 

In the few references made by McGee 1 to these surficial sands he 
referred them to the “interfluvial phase of the Columbia.” Also 
Spencer, 2 McCallie, 3 and Veatch 4 have referred to them in a general 
way as “Columbia sand.” Mr. R. M. Harper 5 has given interesting 
descriptions of the sands at a number of localities, discussing them 
from the standpoint of their influence upon the flora of the Coastal 
Plain. 


J The Lafayette formation : Twelfth Ann. Rept., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1890-1891, pt. 1, 
pp. 388. 389. 

2 Spencer, J. W., First Ann. Rept. Progress. Georgia Geol. Survey, 1890-1891, pp. 61-71. 

3 McCallie, S. W., Uuderground Waters of Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey, Bull. No. 
15. 1908, p. 29. 

4 Clay Deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geol. Survey, Bull. No. 18, 1909, p. 68. 

6 A Phytogeographical Sketch of the Altamaha Grit Region of Georgia: Annals N. T. 
Acad. Sci., Vol. XVII, pt. 1, Nov., 1906. 



450 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


It is reasonably certain that much of the surficial sand is residual 
from Cretaceous and Tertiary formations, and hence should not 
be classed as a formation, using this word in a stratigraphic sense. 
The residual sand varies from one to ten feet in thickness. At 
many places on the slopes there are accumulations of sands trans¬ 
ported by rainwater from higher to lower levels. In some cases 
the redeposited sands appear to rest unconformably upon the under¬ 
lying strata, this relation being especially apparent where pebbles 
are present at the base. Such deposits may show a thickness of 
from five to fifteen feet whereas the residual sands on the tops of 
the hills may not be more than two feet. Accumulations of this 
nature are properly colluvial deposits. The winds may have shifted 
and redeposited the residual sands in places but there do not appear 
to be many large deposits due to this’ cause. 

The formations from which the residual, surficial sands are de¬ 
rived are themselves composed chiefly of quartz sand with small 
percentages of disseminated clay. In the process of weathering 
the clay is carried away in suspension by rainfall leaving the 
quartz grains and small amounts of other minerals, such as mica, 
iron oxides, etc. Wherever the formations underlying the surface 
are very calcareous, argillaceous, or ferruginous, the gray surficial 
sands are absent. 

In addition to the residual and colluvial deposits, there are gray 
or browish, incoherent sand deposits 10 to 30 feet thick, which 
lie in belts onei-half mile to two miles wide, paralleling certain 
rivers and creeks; these accumulations appear to be at higher eleva¬ 
tions than the fiuviatile terrace deposits of the Okefenokee forma¬ 
tion. Locally, they exhibit faint stratification lines and in places 
seem to be sharply separated from the underlying older formations. 
These facts, together with their peculiar distribution and relatively 
great thickness are evidence of their non-residual character. Their 
high elevation precludes the possibility of their having been deposited 
by existing streams. It is suggested that they may have been 
heaped up as the result of combined wave and wind action along 
the shores of early Pleistocene estuaries, or they may have been 
deposited as alluvium by the rivers occupying the valleys in early 
Pleistocene time. This type of surficial sand is typically developed 
along Cannoochee, Ohoopee, Little Ocmulgee and Satilla rivers, and 
appears along other streams throughout the Altamaha upland or 
“Wiregrass country.” 

One well known sand deposit,—the sand hills on the east side 
of Flint River at Albany,—clearly owes its present form to wind 
deposition, whatever may have been the primary origin of the sand. 


SURFICIAL SAND 


451 


There is some evidence of a sand-coverd, Pleistocene terrace plain 
higher and older than the Okefenokee plain and perhaps similar in 
origin, although as yet sufficient proof of its existence has not been 
obtained to warrant positive statements. Such a plain, if it exists, in¬ 
cludes a part of the gray surficial sands here treated under the head 
of upland sands. (See pp. 424-425.) 

LOCAL DETAILS 

The more important localities where the surficial sands are de¬ 
veloped, are mentioned below, and the topographic positions, litho¬ 
logic characters, and probable origins of the deposits are indicated. 

Fall Line localities .—Extending southward 10 to 20 miles from 
the southern border of the Piedmont Plain is a belt of land over 
much of which gray or brownish, incoherent quartz sands form a 
surficial covering. In a classification of the Coastal Plain from the 
agricultural standpoint Loughridge 1 has described this region as the 
“Fall Line sand hills.” In extent the “sand hills” were said to 
reach across the State from Augusta to Columbus, covering an area of 
about 2,950 square miles. The surficial sands over this area are be¬ 
lieved to be residual, except along the terraces bordering the rivers, 
where fiuviatile sand deposits of Pleistocene age have been deposited. 

Near Hampton Terrace Hotel on the South Carolina side of Sa¬ 
vannah River opposite Augusta, the surficial sands are gray or 
brownish, and mantle the upland plain at an elevation of 225 
feet or more above the river; in one exposure, at the base of the 
gray sand water-worn, quartz pebbles having a diameter of two 
or three inches, were observed. These pebbles are unmistakably 
in the surficial sand and suggest an unconformity with the underlying 
strata. The sand here overlies red, highly ferruginous sand of 
Eocene age. The gray sands are also exposed on the Georgia side 
west of Augusta, at Monte Sano, at which place also a few pebbles 
were noted. The sands also mantle the hills and ridges westward 
from Augusta. Notable thin coverings of grayish or brownish quartz 
sands, probably residual, occur in the vicinity of Grovetown, Co¬ 
lumbia County, and are also well developed over the hill tops and 
slopes southward from this place to Hephzibah, Richmond County. 
They attain a thickness of only a few feet. In this region the 
sands are underlain principally by Eocene strata. 

At Keysville, in the northwestern corner of Burke County, the 
surficial sands reach a thickness of 10 to 18 feet and do not seem to 
be in any way connected with the drainage of the country. The 


moughridge, R. H., Cotton Production: Tenth Census, Vol. 6, p. 38. 



452 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


sands are in general yellow or brownish, and, when moist, resemble 
oak sawdust; but in places at the surface they have been leached 
almost pure white. They consist almost entirely of subangular 
quartz, but microscopic examination reveals a few rounded grains 
of opalescent silica; limonite forms a coating over the quartz 
grains; there is some organic matter at the surface to which the 
characteristic dull gray appearance is due. No trace of stratifica¬ 
tion appears in any of the exposures. About two miles east of the 
town there is in these sands a circular depression which probably 
resulted from the irregular heaping up of the sands by wind action. 
The surficial sands overlie red, argillaceous sands of Eocene age. 

, About 10 feet of brownish, incoherent sand overlies the Cretaceous 
strata in the railroad cut at Carrs Station, Hancock County, and 
similar sands appear at other localities’ in the southern part of the 
same county. 

In a cut of the Central of Georgia Railway, about three miles west 
of Griswoldville, Jones County, 10 to 15 feet of loose, surficial sand 
overlies red Eocene sand from which it does not seem to be sharply 
separated. Although so great a thickness of sands of the residual 
class is not common, the nearly pure character of the underlying 
Eocene sands at this locality renders this explanation of the origin 
of the deposit the most probable one. 

The gray, pebbly sands appear as a thin covering over the high 
level upland west of Macon, lying about 200 feet above Ocmulgee 
River. They appear to be residual from the underlying pebbly 
formation. The gray sands and gravels are mined at a small pit 
three miles west of Macon near the Columbus road. 

The gray sands are well developed southeast of Roberta, Craw¬ 
ford County. They do not appear at all on Rich Hill, which is 
capped by Eocene strata, and which is probably the highest point in 
the Coastal Plain; over the adjacent Lower Cretaceous area to the 
southward they form a thick mantle covering a belt a few miles 
wide. In this region the sands are gray at the surface, and light yel¬ 
low at depths, and are composed almost entirely of quartz. The thick¬ 
ness averages four to six feet but locally reaches 10 to 15 feet. At 
many places in this region the surface is dotted with numerous 
small, oval hillocks of sand, 8 or 10 inches high, thrown up by a 
burrowing pouched gopher, locally known as a “salamander.” This 
small rodent is common elsewhere in the sand hills of the Coastal 
Plain. To the southward of this region in the Fort Valley area the 
surficial sands appear to be entirely absent. 

The best known development of the surficial sands occur on the 
high plain stretching from three miles east of Butler, Taylor County, 


SURFICIAL SAND 


453 


westward to Geneva, Talbot County, in the region traversed by the 
Central of Georgia Railway. This plain reaches an elevation of 
650 feet or more above sea-level. The sands are being excavated for 
commercial purposes at Howard and Junction City. 

Hear Butler the sands are only five or six feet thick. They ex¬ 
tend northward from Butler to the border of the Piedmont area. 

At Howard, near the pits of the J. M. Brown Sand Company, 
the sands attain a probable maximum thickness of over 30 feet. Thirty 
feet of sands appear in the pits near the railroad, one mile west of 
Howard. They are entirely unconsolidated and show but little evi¬ 
dence of stratification. At the surface they are gray or light buff 
in color but in places at depths are slightly darker. 1 These sands 
overlie Lower Cretaceous strata apparently filling old erosion hol¬ 
lows; although there are these local indications of unconformity it 
is believed that the sands are residual from the underlying Creta¬ 
ceous strata, but in places have been shifted into ravines by winds 
and torrents. 

Section in pit of J. M. Brown Sand Company at Howard. 

Surficial sand. 

5. At the surface—fine-grained, gray or brownish ] 

4. Light yellow sand.I 25 

3. Almost white sand, showing some evidence of [ 

water stratification . j 

2. Ferruginous sand containing a very small per-| 

centage of clay.[• 5 

1. White sand.J 

Microscopic examination of a sample of the surficial gray sand 
from this locality revealed chiefly subangular quartz grains with 
slight amounts of mica in fine flakes, some decomposed feldspar at¬ 
tached to quartz grains, minute particles of black sand, and a small 
amount of iron oxide which forms a coating over the quartz grains'; 
the clay content does not exceed one or two per cent. 

Hear Junction City, Talbot County, the sands reach a thickness of 
20 feet; in color they are light bluff or dull gray; as at Howard, they 
are composed of subangular quartz with minor amounts of clay, 
iron oxide, mica, and black sand; they are generally fine in texture 
but a few rounded quartz pebbles about the size of buckshot were 
observed in places. The deposits are wholly unconsolidated and re¬ 
veal no stratification. 

Similar sands are present in. the region to the southward of the 
above mentioned places and overlie the Upper Cretaceous and lower 
Eocene beds. Over a large part of the limestone region of south¬ 
western Georgia they appear to be absent, the soils consisting of 







454 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


red, argillaceous sands residual from the Eocene and Oligocene 
formations; they have been noted in a few places, however, as in 
the region east of Americus, Sumter County; north of Shellman, 
Bandolph County; over a large part of Lee County; in the western 
part of Baker County; and in Miller County. 

Large accumulations of sand appear in the form of dunes 30 or 
40 feet high on the east side of Flint Biver at Albany; the maximum 
elevations of their summits above the river is about 100 feet. Among 
the dunes are undrained depressions probably due in part to the col¬ 
lapse of solution caverns in the underlying Vicksburg limestone, 
and in part to the irregular heaping up of the sand by wind. The 
sands are gray or light buff in color and are composed entirely of 
subangular quartz grains; in composition and appearance they re¬ 
semble the gray sands of the Fall Line region. Small, angular 
and flat flint chips are scattered through the sands; since these 
fragments show no evidence of having been water-worn in transpor¬ 
tation they are believed to be the chippings left by Indians in the 
manufacture of arrows', hatchets, etc. Similar flint chips have been 
observed at Dublin in sand described on a following page. The 
sands were probably accumulated during the early Pleistocene period. 

“Wire-grass’ sand hills .—Grayish and brownish sands are present 
as a surficial covering over nearly the whole of the “wire-grass” up¬ 
land east of Flint Biver. Generally they form only a thin residua* 
covering over the mottled, argillaceous sands and clays of the Alta- 
maha (Lafayette ?) formation. The thickness of the sand averages 
two to four feet, but at a number of localities there are accumula¬ 
tions reaching 10 to 25 feet. A few of the more conspicuous lo¬ 
calities are mentioned below: 

In the southeastern part of Burke County, and also in Screven 
County, are heavy beds of surficial gray sand of probable residual 
origin lying between Briar Creek and Savannah Biver. The sands 
reach a thickness' of from 3 to 10 feet and overlie, alike, the Barnwell 
sand of the Claiborne group and the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) forma¬ 
tion. They lie on the divide between the two streams at elevations 
of 125 to 150 feet above Savannah Biver. 

On the east side of Oconee Biver, opposite Dublin in Laurens 
County, is a conspicuous accumulation of sand lying about 100 feet 
above the river and reaching a maximum thickness of 20 feet. See 
plate XXX, opposite page 448. The sands are gray to light buff in 
color. Bear the surface they are rather fine, "incoherent, and 
structureless, but with depth become slightly coarser and near the 
base exhibit current bedding. Between this sand accumulation and 
the river there are gray sands of terrace origin which are certainly of 


SURFIGIAL SAND 


455 


Pleistocene age and referable to the Okefenokee formation. Quartz 
pebbles were noted in the upland gray sands south and southwest 
of Dublin. 

A finei exposure of sand appears in a cut of the Seaboard Air 
Line Railway two miles east of Helena, Telfair County, on the east 
side of Little Ocmulgee River. The sand bed reaches a thickness of 
25 feet; it is gray or light buff in color, becoming coarser and almost 
white at the bottom of the cut; very coarse sand and a few pebbles 
were noted near the contact with the underlying formation. The 
sand hill reaches a height of 75 feet above the river and extends 
southward to the junction with the Ocmulgee at Lumber City. On 
the west side of the river only a thin coating of the gray sand is 
present. 

The gray sands are well developed in the region traversed by 
Cannoochee River and its tributaries. A notable deposit occurs on 
the east side of Cannoochee River five miles northeast of Stillmore, 
Emanuel County, where it is well exposed in a cut of the Georgia and 
Florida Railway. The sands reach a thickness of 15 feet; are gray, 
yellow, or light buff in color, and have the characteristics of similar 
accumulations at other localities. Wavy lines one-eighth of an inch 
thick or less, of ferruginous, darker colored sand, present the only 
evidence of stratification. At one point in the cut a high per¬ 
centage of iron oxide was observed, rendering the sands yellow or 
orange in color; a few thin, limonitic crusts were noted. This de¬ 
posit is well above the river and is certainly not a Recent flood- 
plain accumulation. On the west side of the river there is only a 
very thin film of sand over the Altamaha (Lafayette ?) formation. 

Similar deposits occur along the Georgia and Florida Railway 
on the north side of Ohoopee River, six miles southeast of Stillmore; 
on the north side of Pendletons Creek; and near Normantown. 

Hear Reidsville, on the east side of Ohoopee River in Tattnall 
County, is a heavy sand bed covering a belt two to three miles wide. 
The sands are white at the surface in places and in a photograph 
produce the effect' of snow. The deposit' lies well above the river 
and apparently is not of river terrace origin. However, gray sands, 
locally termed “sand hammocks” which are probably of Pleistocene 
terrace origin, occur at lower levels along the river. 

There is an extraordinary development of sand on the east and 
north side of Satilla River, and its tributary, Seventeen Mile Creek, 
extending from western Pierce County opposite Wavcross, to .Doug¬ 
las Coffee County. This deposit consists of gray, yellowish or 
brownish, incoherent quartz sands free from pebbles and clay, and 
for the most part structureless or showing only very faint structure. 


456 


GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN 


In places the sands reach a thickness of 20 or 30 feet or more. The 
altitude of the sand hills above Satilla River is about 50 feet, or 
about the same as the general upland level of the same region. The 
sands lie at a higher elevation than the sands of the Okefenokee ter¬ 
race plain east of Way cross, and because of their higher elevation 
are supposed to be older than that formation. In places in this belt 
there are in the sands roughly circular, shallow depressions which 
during rainy seasons, hold water and form sand hill ponds. It is 
not known whether these sands are of beach and wind-dune origin 
along the shore of a Pleistocene estuary or whether they were de¬ 
posited as alluvium. It is certain, however, that they owe their pres¬ 
ent form in part to wind action. 

Considerable accumulations of surficial sand cover the high pla¬ 
teau on the east side of Flint River from near Faceville, Decatur 
County, southward to River Junction, Fla. The sands are buff or 
dirty gray in color, due to iron oxide and to a small amount of or¬ 
ganic matter from growing vegetation. They are loose in texture 
and resemble the surficial sands of the Fall Line region and else¬ 
where. A sample from near the 255th mile-post on the Atlantic 
Coast Line Railway between Recovery and River Junction was ex¬ 
amined microscopically. It was found to consist chiefly of fine, sub- 
.angular quartz with a small percentage of well rounded, or spherical 
grains, and a very small percentage of clay. 


INDEX 


Page. 

Adrian, section near. 414 

Agate 111 ’ Sand dep0SltS .. 442, 443 448, 450, 452, 454 

Aibany artesian well at. 200-201,'^317-319 

Sand hills near. < 450 454 

Vicksburg formation near.. ' * 316-°19 

Albion Kaolin Co. section at mines of. 

Aldrich, T. H., fossil determinations by.’ [ ’ ’ ’ 420 

Alexanders Landing, Chattahoochee R. section at. 178-179 

Allapaha River, sections along.. 340 ' 353-354 

Altamaha (Lafayette) formation.... ’ 400-423 

Altamaha River, course of ... *... 41 

a Deta iled sections along.’359-360, 376-377,’ 409-413 

Altamaha Upland .. 31-34 

Alum Bluff formation. 342-362 

Alum Bluff, section at. . . 042 

Americus, geology near ... 267 314 

Andersonville, geology near. . 235 267 313 

Anticlines. .....” ’ 44 63 

Appalachian Mountains. 26 

Appalachian Valley. 26 

Appalachicola Group.324-362 

Arkose . 84, 104, 269, 403, 404, 417 

Arlington, Vicksburg near. 313 

Atkinson, Wayne County, section at King plantation.419-420 

Attapulgus, fullers earth and sections near. 349-350 

Augusta, Cretaceous near.103, 105 

Pleistocene at.„ 433^ 441 

Surficial sand at. ’ 451 


B 

Bainbridge, geologic notes and sections near .... 320-322, 329-332, 347-348 

Barnwell sand -.•. 285-296 

Barrows Mill, Houston County, section at.197,217 

Basin, Claiborne, along Savannah River. 239 

Bassler, R. S., fossil determinations by. 260, 396 

Bauxite. 72, 75, 96,’ 293 

Bays, definition of.'. 33 

Beach pebbles. 371, 435 

Beach deposits.. . .*. 446 

Beards Bluff, Pleistocene at. 443 

Berry, E. W., on fossil plants in Georgia . 73, 87, 119, 123, 128, 144, 163, 171, 

173, 209-210, 240 

Bibb County, Lower Cretaceous in . , *. 90-91 

Claiborne in. 283, 295-296 

Big Pond, Appling County. 49 

Blakely, log of well at.201, 312 

Blue Bluff, Savannah R. section at. 249-250 

Blue Spring, Decatur County. 325, 330, 331 

Blue Spring Dougherty County .. 50 

Blufftown, Chattahoochee River, section and fossils.134-137 

Boston, formations near.*. 338, 351 

Boyd Farm, Burke County, fossil collection at. 289 

Broken Arrow Bend, section at.117-119 


457 





















































INDEX 


458 


Brunswick, Miocene at. 377-378 

Pleistocene at. 436 

Buena Vista, sections near. 163, 196, 217 

Log of well at. 190 

Buffalo Swamp. . . ... 37, 49 

Bugs Bluff, Altamaha River, section of.-. 412 

Buhrstone formation... 238, 262 

Burke County, Claiborne in. 242-251, 287-290 

Surficial sand in. 451-452, 454 

Burnt Fort, marl at.-. 380, 381 

Pleistocene near. 439 

Byron, sections near.*.169-171 


C 


Calico Hill, St. Marys River. 399 

Camden County, Pleistocene in.^. 439-440 

Cannoochee River, sand hills along. 455 

Cape Fear beds.„. 109 

Carrs Station, geology, near... 79, 99, 452 

Chalk Bluff, St. Marys River, section at. 399-400 

Chalker, Claiborne near. 276 

Charlton formation. > . 392-400 

Chattahoochee formation. 324-342 

Chattahoochee River, map of. 79 

pipictnppnp fllnn? 4^-tl 444 

Sections along . .’.'.*. 78-83, *117-123,’ 1*31-138* 172-181, *23*1-232, 262-264 

Structure along. 63, 64 

Chimney Bluff, section.122-123 

Fossils from. 132 

Claiborne group. 235-296 

Historical summary. 235-237 

Divisions of. 236 

Clark, W B . . . ..Ill, 179, 341 

Clay Landing, St. Marys River, section. 396 

Clays, of commercial value. 72, 75, 88, 231, 284, 346 

Clays, silicification of. 272, 344 

Climax, Decatur County, sections near. 348-349, 421-422 

Section near, by J. W. Spencer. 388-389 

Coastal Plain, area of. 27 

Elevations of above sea level. 27 

Elevations, list of.*. . . 50-57 

Geology of, general statement. 58-65 

Physiography of. 27-50 

Colerain bluff, St. Marys River.•. 435 

Collins, Altahama (Lafayette) at. 415 

Colluvial sand deposits. 450 

Columbia formation. 424 

Columbia group.•. 425-445 

Columbus, sections near. 78-86, 124-127 

Wells near. 80-81 

Pleistocene near. 382, 431, 444 

Congaree clay member . .. 267-284 

Conrad, T. A., cited. 68, 236, 243 

Copperas Bluff, section at. 226 

Cordray Mill, geology near. 266, 267, 299 

Correlation, Cretaceous.. 108-111, 140-149, 204-215 

Cowford, St. Marys R., section at. 397 

Cox property, section on. f .. 242 

Cox spring, sections near. 287-288 



























































459 


INDEX 

Crescent, McIntosh County, Pleistocene at . 

Cretaceous. 

Historical review. 

Crystalline Area of Georgia . 

Crystalline floor, slope of . . . 

Cumberland Plateau. 

Cusseta, Cretaceous near. 

Cusseta sand member. 

Cutbbert, geology near . 


. . . . 438 

. . . . 66-215 

.67-73 

. 58 

.... 62,74 

. 25 

139-140, 162-163 

. 152 

. 234, 266, 311 


D 


Dali, W. H. 

Danville Ferry, Flint River, section at*. 
Dawson, Vicksburg formation at ... 
Demeries Ferry, Savannah R., section at 

Diabase dike . 

Doctortown, section at. 

“Lafayette” at. 

Dougherty Plain. 

Drainage of the Coastal Plain. 

Drainage in relation to structure .... 
Drybranch, sections and geology near . 

Dublin, Vicksburg near. 

Sand hill opposite. 

Dune sand and aeolian deposits .... 
Duplin Marl. 


.... 243, 247, 307, 342 

. 260 

312 

. 248 

. 280 

. 377, 413 

. 384 

. 30-31 

. 39-43 

. 63 

. 92-94, 255-256, 294, 304 

. 323 

. . . :. 454 

37, 389, 430, 432, 441, 454 
. 366-369 


E 


Ebenezer, Effingham County, Miocene at. 375 

Economic geology. 220, 283-284, 298-299, 311, 328, 346, 366, 369 

Eden, sand hill near. 443 

Elevations in Coastal Plain. 50-57 

Ellaville, formations near. 191, 224, 235 

Eucbee Rapids, section at.119-121 

Eocene. 216-306 

Eufaula, Alabama, list of Cretaceous fossils from ’.176-177 

Pleistocene at. 431 

Sections near.173-181 

Eutaw formation.111-149 

Everhart, Edgar, analysis by. 446 

Exogyra ponderosa zone. 154 

Exogyra costata zone ... 154 


F 


Faceville, section at. 

Fall Line, definition of. 

Fall Line Hills. 

Feldspar in Coastal Plain formations 
Flint of the Vicksburg formation . 

Flint River, course of •. 

Pleistocene along. 

Sections along. 

Foerste, A. F. 

Folkston, formations near. 

Forest Falls, sections at. 

Florence, section of Cretaceous at . . 


. 333-334 

. 27 

28-30 

.' .’ .’ .’ .’ ." .*403,' 404, 405, 417 

. 308-309 

.. 63 

. 432 

225-226, 260-262, 314-322, 328, 332 

. 347 

. 398-399, 426. 427 

. 334-336 

.155-156 




















































460 


INDEX 


Fort Gaines, log of well near. 202 

Pleistocene at.. 431 

Sections at.. 220-22*1,'231-233, 263 

Fort James, Altamaha River, section at. 411 

Fort Valley, notes on geology near . . . ■. 154, 168-169, 171, 386 

Section of well at. 171 

Fossils, value of in stratigraphy.•.61, 66 

Fullers earth. 268, 269, 278-279, 283, 284, 343, 346, 349, 359, 409 

Geologic formations, detailed description of. 66-456 

General statement about. 58-65 

Map of. 58 

Tables of. 48, 60-61 

Thickness of. 59-62 

Georgetown, formations near. 181-184, 222, 431 

Georgia Kaolin Company, sections at mines of. 93, 256, 304 

Gibson, sections near. 272-274 

Gidley, J. W., fossil determinations by. 208-436 

Gilmore, C. W., fossil determinations by.. . . . 175, 208 

Girard, Vicksburg near. 323 

Glauconite beds . 302 

Glynn County, Pleistocene in. 439 

Gosport greensand formation. 236, 287 

Gravel beds. 90, 431, 452 

Grays Landing, Altamaha River, sections at. 409 

Greens Cut, Burke County, formations at. 384 

Greer Cave, Midway, formation at. 223 

Griffin Landing. 250 

Griswoldville, formations near. 94-95, 282,. 452 

Grit. 403 

Grovetown, section and geology near. 102, 103, 269-271, 451 

Gullies. 29-30 

Gypsum.•. 435 


H 


Hamburg beds, Cretaceous. 109 

Hammocks. 34, 455 

Hancock Landing, section at. 248-249 

Harlem, sections at. 271-272 

Harper, R. M., quoted. . . 44-46, 391 

Harris, G. D., cited. 270, 279, 282 

Hawkinsville, section near. 305, 322-323 

Helena, sand hills east of. 455 

Hephzibah, geology near. 105, 290 

Hershman Lake. 43, 324 

Hicks Bluff, St. Marys River, section at. 394 

House Creek bluff, section at. 357 

Howard, Taylor County, surficial sand near. 453 

Hudson’s Landing, sections at. 361, 370 


I 


Ideal, section near. 

Igneous and crystalline rocks . . 

Illustrations, list of. 

Iron ore. 

Irwinton, Lower Cretaceous near 
Islands, area and origin of . . . 


192 

. 73-74, 78, *84, 101, 104, 106, 280 

. 20-24 

. 164, 218, 220, 286 

. 96 

. 37 






















































INDEX 


461 


J 


Jackson formation. 

Jacksonboro, Screven County, limestone near 
Jamestown P. O., section of Cretaceous at 

Jefferson County, Claiborne in. 

Jeffersonville, section near. 

Johnsons Hill, Stewart County, section . 
Johnsons Landing, formations at. 


. 296*306 

. 341-342 

.138-139 

251-253, 272, 291-292 

. 294-295 

. 187 

. 306, 324 


K 


Kaolin. 

Keysville, surficial sand at. 

King Plantation, Satilla River, sections and fossils 

Kittrells, section near. 

Kramer, Wilcox County, Altamaha (Lafayette)’ at ! 


72, 75, 92-95 
. . . 451-452 
. . 402, 419 
. . . 305 

. . . 417 


L 


Ladd, Geo. E., quoted. 

Lafayette formation. 

Review of literature on. 

Relation to Altamaha formation . . 

Lakes . 

Langdon, D. W., cited. 

Lignite. 

Lignitic group. 

Lime, rock suitable for. 

Limesink, Forest Falls. 

Sections at. 

Limesinks. 

Limestone, silicification of. 

Linden Bluff, Attamaha River, section at 
Lithology, as a basis for mapping . . . . 

Little, Dr. George, quoted. 

Livingston plantation, section at ... . 

Loughridge, Dr. R. H., cited. 

Louisville oil well, log of. 

Lower Cretaceous. 

Lumber City, Pleistocene at. 

Section of Alum Bluff formation at 

Lumpkin, sections near. 

Lyell, Sir Charles, cited. 

Lyell gullies. 


. 277-278, 389-390 

.•. 379, 380 

. 381-392 

. 392-407 

. 41-43 

. 70, 227, 262 

. 116, 122, 270-271, 284 

. 221, 250, 254,’ 299, 311, 314, 328 

. 42 

. 334-336 

. 31, 33, 34, 42 

. 222, 292, 308, 313, 326 

. 412 

. 61, 66 

. 69 

. 378-379 

. 49, 380, 451 

. 76, 100, 107-108, 252 

. 73, 111 

. 433 

....’.. 187, 194-195,’ 216-217 

. 67, 243, 341, 436-437 

. 30 


Me 


McBean, fossils near. 239-240 

Sections near . .. 242-243 

McBean formation. 237-284 

McBride Ford, section of Cretaceous at. 86 

McCallie, S. W., sections and notes by. 71, 253-254, 283, 295, 305 

Quoted on Lafayette. 391-392 

McDuffie County, Lower Cretaceous in. 101 

McGee, W. J., cited on Pleistocene. 424 

Quoted on Lafayette. 381-385 

McIntyre plantation, rocks at. 337 






i 

















































462 


INDEX 


M 


Macon, formations near. 

Terracing at. 

Mammalian remains. 

Map, geologic, opposite.. 

Marks Head, section at. 

Marks Head marl.. 

Marl, description of at Shell Bluff. 

Marls and limestone for fertilizer. 

Marsh and tide swamp. 

Area of. 

Marshallville, log of well at. 

Matson, G. €., and Clapp, F. G., cited. 

Midville, formations near. 

Midway formation. 

Millen, formations near. 

Miocene. 

Montezuma, sections near. 

Well at. 

Morris Landing, Chattahoochee River, Eocene at 


. . 90-91, 283, 383, 390, 

. 383, 

. 394, 435, 

N 

.* .’ .’ * .* .* * .’ .’ 363- 
220, *231,' 2*47, 284, *328, 

* . *306, 

. 289, 

.216- 

.341, 

. 362- 

. 224- 

. 202 - 

.181, 


432 

432 
437 

58 

371 

366 

247 

366 

38 

446 

197 

393 

416 

226 

433 
379 
225 
203 
220 


N 


Names of formations. 61 

Narrows, Pataula Creek, section and fossils.184-185 

Nettles Landing, St. Marys River section. 296-397 

New Savannah bluff. Savannah River section at.. 442 

Norwood, Lower Cretaceous at. 101 


O 


Oakfield, Vicksburg formation near. 314-315 

Ocean Pond, Lowndes County. 34-35 

Ochille, section at. 128 

Ocmulgee River, sections along. 305, 356-358 

Pleistocene along. 432, 443 

Oconee River, sections along. 305, 358-359 

Ogeechee River, Alum Bluff formation along. 360 

Oglethorpe Bluff, Altamaha River, section at.411-412 

Okefenokee Plain. 35-36, 46, 425, 426 

Okefenokee Swamp.. . . 44-49 

Map of, opposite. 44 

Okefenokee formation. 425-434 

Old Town, list of fossils from. 292 

Oligocene. 306-362 

Adoption of the term ....... ., 307, 362 

Olympia, section near. 339 

Omusee Creek, Alabama, Claiborne at. 263-264 

Orange Bluff, St. Marys River, section at. 400 

Pleistocene at. 440 

Orbitoidal limestone. 310 

Original Pond, formations at. 336-337 

Ostracods. 396, 399 

Ostrea georgiana bed. 240, 244 

Ostrea georgiana, description of. 243, 247, 250 

Owens Ferry, Miocene at. 379 




















































INDEX 

P 


463 


Paleozoic area of Georgia. 5 g 

Parramore Hill, Altamaha (Lafayette),’ at *. ’. ‘ ' 4 i 6 

Pataula Creek, fossils and sections. 179-180 184-186 

“Pebble” land’ . *.’. *.*.* .*.*.. 405 421 

Penny Bluff, Flint River, section at. 261 

Perry, Cretaceous near. 198-199 

Sections south of.’ .*258-260,’ 301-303 

Phosphate. 326, 337, 338, 340, 344, 346, 354, 355, 363 

Physiography. 25-50 


Piedmont Plain. 

Pikes Peak station, sections at. 

Plant remains (see also Berry, E. W.) . '. . . 

Pleistocene. 

Pliocene. 

Ponds . 

Porters Landing, Savannah River, sections at 

Fossil collections at. 

Potholes. 

Potomac formation. 

Powell limesink. 

Preston, Midway near. 

jr'rovmence gullies. 

Providence, Lumpkin County, section at . . . 

Providence sand member. 

Sections of. 

Pumpelly, Raphael, cited. 

Purisburg, S. C., section at. 

Pyles Marsh, reference to plate illustrating . . 


. 26-27, 58 

. 278-279 

99, 269, 270, 271, 290, 370, 372 

. 424-445 

. 379-423 

. 33, 34, 41-43 

.. 371-373 

. 365, 368 

. 221, 233 

. 70, 71 

. 332-333 

. 223 

.30, 19* 

. 194 

.152-153 

.192-198 

. 325 

. 375-376 

. 37 


Q 


Quaternary. 424-445 

Quitman, geology near. 339, 352 

Quitman County, Cretaceous in. 181-183, 192-193 

Eocene exposures in. 222-223 

Pleistocene in. 431 


R 


Racepasses, Chattahoochee River, section at 
Rand Landing, St. Marys River, section . . 

Recent deposits. 

Red hills. 

Reidsville, sand hill near. 

Renfroes marl formation. 

Reptilian remains. 

Reynolds, well at. 

Rich Hill, Crawford County, formations at . 

Richland, Midway near. 

Richmond County, geology of. 

Ripley formation ..• 

Rivers of the Coastal Plain. 


Road metal... 

Rock House, Crisp County, section at ... . . . . • • 
Roods Bend, Chattahoochee River, section and fossils 
Roberts Station, section and fossils. 


. 123 

. 395-396 

. 445-447 

. 29 

. 455 

. 72 

. 151, 208, 215 

. 76 

30, 88-89, 299-300, 385 

. 223 

. 103-105, 251, 290-291 

.149-215 

. 40-41 

. 311 

. 340 

.159-160 

. 279-282 





















































464 


INDEX 


Rose Bluff, Fla., fossils and section. 436, 440 

Rofs Hill, section of Jackson formation at. ’ 301 

Rotten limestone formation. 69, 71 

Rutland, Bibb County, section near. 90 


S 


Salamander, in sand hills.•. 452 

Sandersville, sections near. 253 

Sand hills.. 29, 33, 77, 449-451 

Origin of. 34, 77 

Sand hill ponds. 34 

Sand pits. 453 

Sand streams. 30, 164, 447 

Sandersville, geologic formations near. 253, 274-275 

Log of well at. N . 106 

Sansavilla bluffs, Altamaha River, sections. 413 

Satilla Coastal Lowland. 36-39, 434 

Satilla formation. 434-445 

Satilla River, course of. 41 

Formations along. 379, 392 

Sand hills along. 455-456 

Savannah, Altamaha (Lafayette) near. 417 

Pleistocene near. 437-438 

Savannah River, sections along. 105-106, 243-251, 361-362, 370-376 

Pleistocene along.’. 433, 441-442 

Savannas. 37 

Sawpit Landing, section at. 398 

Second bottoms .. 39 

Sellards, E. H., cited.. . .. 440 

Selma Chalk. 69-71 

Shell Bluff, description of strata at. 243-247 

Silver Bluff, Savannah River, Pleistocene. 442 

Sister Bluff, Altamaha River, section of.410-411 

Sisters Ferry, Savannah River, section at.:. 374-375 

Slick Bluff, Chattahoochee River.71, 120 

Sloan, Earle, cited and quoted. 236, 239, 267, 371 

Smith, E. A., cited.69, 112, 177 

Smithville, Claiborne near. 267 

Soils. 29, 32, 35, 238, 269, 287, 309, 345, 351, 364, 367, 405, 430, 

447, 453-454 

Southern Limesink region. 34-35 

Spencer, J. W., on Cretaceous geology. 71 

Quoted. 261-262, 385-389 

Section by. 387 

Springs .. 49-50 

Stanton, T. W. ..*. 23 

Fossil collections by. 178-180 

St. Marys River, course of. 41 

Detailed sections along. 356, 393-400 

St. Stephens limestone formation. 306 

Stephenson, L. W. 22-23 

Stevens Pottery, sections at. 97 

Stewarts Hill, Chattahoochee River, section.174-175 

Section of by J. W. Spencer. 387 

Stillmore, sand hills near. 455 

Stokes Ferry, section. 393-394 

Stony Bluff, section at. 290 

Stony Lake, section at. 339 

























































INDEX 


465 


Structure of the Coastal Plain .... 
During deposition of Claiborne 

Submergence, coastal. 

Surficial sands. 

Suwanee River, formations along 

Swamps. 

Sylvester, Chattahoochee formation near 


. . 62-65 

. . 239 

. . 37,38 

402, 447-456 
. . 355, 445 
43-49 
. . 327 


T 


Talbot County, Lower Cretaceous in . . S7 

Taylor County, Lower Cretaceous in.. C7 o' 

Tennille, Sections near. . b 

Log of well at.. 

Terr Elevations of .' *. *. *. *. *. *. \ \ \ \ \ \ ‘ 430 441 

Terrace deposits, described in sections (see under Pleistocene) / * 424-445 

(See also various sections along Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee ’ 
Altamaha and Savannah Rivers). 

Tertiary. 21 , 2 , 

Thickness of.. !!!!!!!!’ ’ ’ ^ 61 

Thickness of Coastal Plain strata. ' gx-62 

Thomas Bluff, Chattahoochee R., section at. so 

Tide Swamp. 38 

Tivola, section at. !!.*!!!. . 303 

Tombigbee sand member . *[***’]]’ . ^ 12 

Correlation of. !!!!!.!!.!!.! 145-149 

Sections of. !!!!!! .131-138 

Turtles, fossil .... . ... . / .151 219 

Tuscaloosa formation.. 70, 109,' 112 

Twiggs County, Claiborne formation in. 255-257, 278-279, 293-295 

Jackson formation. 304 

Lower Cretaceous in." ' 91-94 


U 


Underwood Ferry, formation near.165, 217 

Upatoi Creek, sections along.126-127 

Upper Cretaceous. 111-215 

Unio, in Lower Cretaceous. 77 

United States Geological Survey, co-operative work with. 22 


V 

Vaughan T. Wayland, supervisory* and paleontologic work. 22 

Notes and sections by. 242-243, 258, 259-260, 261, 273, 281-282, 

315, 321-322, 328, 333, 393 

Veatch, Otto, work of. 22-23 

Vicksburg formation. 306-324 


W 


Washington County, Claiborne in. 253-255, 274-276 

Waycross, Altamaha (Lafayette), near.418-419 

Waynesboro, formations near. 288-289, 415 

Westlake, Jackson formation near. 304 

Weston, section near. 235 

Wilcox formation .. 226-235 












































466 


INDEX 


Wilkinson County, geologic formations of. 95-97, 276-278, 293 

Winokur, Charlton County, marl near. 392 

Wiregrass. 32 

Wiregrass region. 449 

Wiregrass sand hills. 454-456 

Woolridge Landing, Chattahoochee River, sections.157-158 

Wylie Landing, Decatur County, section at. 334 


X Y Z 


Zenith, sections near. 167 

Zeuglodon.. \ . *298, 300 







































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